sleightn.¹

Brit.

/slʌɪt/, U.S.

/slaɪt/

Forms: α. Middle English sleahþe, Middle English sleiȝþe, Middle English sleȝþe ( sleghþe); Middle English slyhþe, slyȝth, sliȝth; also Middle English sleþþe, Middle English sliþe, slythe, sleiþe, sleyþe, Middle English sleithe, sleyth(e. β. Middle English sleȝt, sleghte, Middle English–1600s sleght; Middle English sleyhte, sleihte, Middle English sleyȝte, sleiȝt, Middle English–1500s sleyghte, sleighte, Middle English–1600s sleyght, Middle English– sleight (Middle English slieght, 1500s slaight); also Middle English–1600s sleyte, Middle English sleyt, 1500s sleite. γ. Middle English slyȝt, sliȝt, slyghte, Middle English–1500s slyght (1500s slyht), Middle English–1700s slight; ScottishMiddle English–1500s slycht, slicht (1500s slichte).

Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymon: Norse slœ́gð.

Etymology: Early Middle English slēȝþ , < Old Norse slœ́gð (Icelandic slægð , Norwegian sløgd ; Middle Swedish slögdh , Swedish slöjd sloyd n.), < slœ́g-r sly adj.For the change of the final -þ or -th to t compare height n. The three leading types of Middle English and later forms are illustrated under some of the senses below, and the following are instances of the chief variations from each of these:α. c1275 Laȝamon Brut 23345 Mid sleþþe he mot slakie loþe his bendes. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 177 Þey..fiteþ wiþ sleiþe and wiþ cauteles. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 317 Naso..techeþ sliþe of love craft.a1400 Gloss. in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 6 Calliditas, a queyntyse or a slythe.c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1859) ii. xlv. 51 By falshede, sleyth, and by extorcion.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 458/2 Sleythe, astucia.β. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7151 Knyghtes þat conne of sleytes.c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypsipyle. 1650 Thour the sleyte of hire enchauntement.14.. Promptorium Parvulorum 64/1 (K.) Cavtele, or sleyte,..cautela.c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 111 Þis þout is sterid to him bi sleyt of þe fend.1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Warwick viii Tooke the towne by sleyte.1577 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 56 To marke withall Ulisses Sleites.1621 F. Quarles Hadassa ii. Medit. sig. D3 Who playes a happy game with crafty sleyte.γ. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 166 With subtilitee or slycht.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) v. 488 He thoucht to virk with slicht.1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 160 Gif that he culd be slicht or ȝit ingyne.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 295 Be sum slichte and quyet craft.

1. Craft or cunning employed so as to deceive; deceitful, subtle, or wily dealing or policy; artifice, strategy, trickery. Now rare or Obsolete.In very common use down to the 17th cent., and frequently contrasted with strength, might, or force.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun]

listOE

wiþercraftc1175

wilta1230

craftc1275

sleightc1275

engine?a1300

quaintisec1300

vaidiec1325

wilec1374

cautelc1375

sophistryc1385

quaintnessc1390

voisdie1390

havilon?a1400

foxeryc1400

subtletyc1400

undercraftc1400

practic?a1439

callidityc1450

policec1450

wilinessc1450

craftiness1484

gin1543

cautility1554

cunning1582

cautelousness1584

panurgy1586

policy1587

foxshipa1616

cunningnessa1625

subdolousness1635

dexterity1656

insidiousnessa1677

versuteness1685

pawkiness1687

sleight-hand1792

pawkery1820

vulpinism1851

downiness1865

foxiness1875

slimness1899

slypussness1908

α.

c1275 Laȝamon Brut 17210 Hit was isaid wile, þat betere his sleahþe [v.r. liste] þane vuele strengþe.

c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4610 Þe Bretons wist hit wel ynow, Bot of þer sleigþe lystneþ now.

1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 301 To faren in þe feld & fonde wiþ slyhþe For to refe þe brod of briddus of heuene.

a1400 Sir Degrev. 791 As wymmen conn mychel slyȝth.

β. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8800 Strengþe ys god wyþ trauaille; Þer strengþe ne may, sleyght wil availle; Sleyght & connyng doþ many a chare.c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 931 Whan troye brought was to distruccioun By grekis sleyghte.c1440 York Myst. xxii. 88 Sen thy fadir may þe fende be sotill sleghte.1483 W. Caxton in tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 377/2 How they myght by sleyght and deceyte..falle on good crysten men.1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. iv. f. 21 His kynsefolkes..shoulde haue taken, eyther by sleyghte or force, as many of owre men.1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 23 Thear sleight and stratagems had beene discoouered easlye.1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 103 By which Kind of Sleight rather then Stratageme the Towne of Dam was taken.1650 S. Clarke Marrow Eccl. Hist. (1654) I. 44 The Devil striving against him with all the might and sleight that could be invented.1841 R. W. Emerson Conservative in Lect. in Wks. (1906) II. 270 Every interest did by right, or might, or sleight, get represented.γ. a1400 Rom. Rose 3158 It preveth wonder welle, Thy slight and tresoun every deelle.c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 13036 ‘Now,’ seyde he, ‘kythe ȝoure slyght! Let se now ȝoure qwayntyse’.1578 T. Tymme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Genesis 297 Satan used his subtle slight to discredit the miracles wrought by God.1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 17 Much wrought they with their power, much with their slight.1652 T. Urquhart Εκσκυβαλαυρον 62 Who by hook and crook,..slight and might..having feathered their nests to some purpose.1699 W. Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. 565 He endeavoured to ward this Blow, by Slight rather than Force.1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) ii. 16 Some dire Disaster, or by Force, or Slight.

†2. Prudence; wisdom, knowledge. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [noun]

righteousnesseOE

snoterc950

witnessc950

wisdomOE

insightc1175

witc1175

smeighnessc1200

sleighta1300

witternessa1300

inwitc1305

wittiheadc1315

wisenessc1320

witterheda1325

wisehede1340

slyness1357

sapience1377

wisdomhood138.

prudencea1382

sapienta1400

sentencec1400

advice?a1439

sophyc1440

profunditya1500

wittiness1543

Minerva1601

depth1605

Sophia1649

visionariness1817

a1300 E.E. Psalter civ. 20 He lered his princes als him~self reght, And his aldemen teched sleght.

c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 7697 Þat wate he best thurgh wytt and sleght, What space þat way contened of heght.

c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 55 Of his [a king's] purueyance and his sleghte.

a. Skill, skilfulness, cleverness, or dexterity in doing or making something, in handling a tool or weapon, etc. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > a bodily skill > manual skill > dexterity

hagherlaikc1175

sleight1390

sleight of handa1500

dexterity1548

manage1598

dexterousness1622

neat-handedness1839

β.

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 127 With gret sleihte Of werk~manschipe it was begrave.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxix. 131 Þe whilk was made thurgh sleight and wirking of men.

1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xix. ix. 788 He..put his ryght hand and his suerd to that stroke, and soo putte it on syde with grete sleyghte.

1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Fviij Tryflinge things, and things in dede Of very slender sleight.

1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. 4 b And as it is not possible without great labour and sleight to take awaie the false imagination [etc.].

1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) i. 215 To it they go with great nimbleness, sleight, and discretion.

1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil ii. iv. 237 He manages with..a Slight particular to himself.

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. iv. 66 With what a sleight..he pushed down my drawn sword.

1825 W. Scott Betrothed iii, in Tales Crusaders II. 63 I have already given you a proof of sleight which has alarmed even your experience.

c1855 Mrs. Moodie in Borthwick Brit. Amer. Reader (1860) 185 The squaw with a peculiar sleight threw her papoose over her shoulder.

γ. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1289 Deuised he þe vesselment, þe vestures clene, Wyth slyȝt of his ciences, his souerayn to loue.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 31 On the syde a doore, with slyght, Beneyth shal thou take.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10673 Mony wondit þat wegh.., And mony slogh..with slight of his bowe.1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 324 Suche as are doonne by the slight and arte of man.1689 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum (ed. 2) xi. 111 People stand and wonder at the slight and strength, by which they see Salmons leap.1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 311 His knife see Rustic-labour dight, An' cut you up wi' ready slight.1821 J. Baillie W. Wallace in Metrical Legends xxx As house~wife's slight, so finely true, The lengthen'd thread from distaff drew.

b. Const. in or at (something).

ΚΠ

1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 250 The Romanis..in battell sic prattik had and slycht.

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads ii. 637 Thaumaciæ,..and Olison the cold, Duke Philoctetes gouerned, in darts of finest sleight.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 102 As these Western men do bear away the Bell for might and sleight in wrastling.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 174 They have a wonderful slight in stealing.

1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. (1709) 204 Not knowing the Slight he had at packing the Cards.

1803 Ann. Rev. 1 31 Docility to instruction, sleight in the mechanic arts.

1896 Dial. Notes (Amer. Dial. Soc.) 1 424 She had a good slight at hoein'.

a. The precise art or method, the special knack or trick, of (doing) something. Now dialect †Also with other constructions.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or adroitness > a skill or knack

featc1386

sleighta1400

art1503

knack1581

quirka1616

tricka1616

to get the hang of1845

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6662 A tabernacle all for to dight, þarof he sceud þam þe slight.

?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. B.iii Ye know it is no whyt my sleyght To be a iudge in maters of weyght.1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxviii. xxxvii. 697 The Balears..do exceed and surpasse others in the cast and slight thereof.1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme ii. sig. C3 Tis the slight To be remembred, when you'r out of sight.1642 D. Rogers Naaman 368 Get once the slight of it (as we say) and then halfe the worke is at an end.a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 210 As Scriveners take more Pains to learn the slight Of making Knots, than all the Hands they write.1861 J. Barr Poems 10 (E.D.D.) Weel doon, my lass!.. My word! Ye hae the slight o't.1882 Jamieson's Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (new ed.) at Slicht I hae the slicht o't noo.

b. spec. Skill in jugglery or conjuring; sleight of hand.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > legerdemain, etc. > [noun]

colea1307

jugglingc1380

tregetryc1380

jugglerya1400

tregettingc1440

legerdemaina1450

jocularya1500

conveyance1531

prestigiation?c1550

conjuring1577

figgum1631

prestigion1635

sleight of handa1640

hocus-pocus1647

sleight1664

jugglementa1708

thaumaturgy1727

conjurationa1734

ventriloquism1797

magic1831

prestidigitation1841

hocus1854

conjury1855

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > a bodily skill > manual skill > dexterity > specifically in juggling or conjuring

sleight of handa1640

sleight1664

1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. iii. 132 Lookers-on feel most delight, That least perceive a Juglers slight.

1850 ‘S. Yendys’ Roman ii. 19 The juggler's sleight, That with facility of motion cheats The eye.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 25 Soon he 'gan to use his magic sleight: Into a lithe leopard, and a hugging bear He turned him.

5. Adroitness, activity, smartness, nimbleness of mind, body, etc.In later use after or influenced by sleight of hand n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > bodily movement > [noun] > qualities of bodily movement > agility or nimbleness

lightnessc1350

delivernessa1382

sleightc1385

deliverancec1410

agility?a1475

deliverhead1493

nimblenessa1500

quiverness?1548

delivery1590

legerity1590

nimbless1596

levity1607

agileness1653

airiness1731

spryness1865

nippiness1916

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or adroitness

subtletyc1300

sleightc1385

subtiltyc1405

subtilityc1415

facility1532

handsomeness1550

address?1577

neatnessa1627

adroitness1683

hability1840

deftness1853

niftiness1878

slickness1895

eptitude1967

c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Ariadne. 2084 Sende you grace and sleyght of hert also Yow to defende.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 167 He chastede þe Schytes þat myȝte nouȝt be overcome toforehonde by sleyþe of witte.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Tollem. MS) xiii. xxix Also fische ben diuerse in scharpnesse of felynge and in sliþe [1495 sleyghte] of wit.

a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) II. 206 He has a foolish Slight of Wit, that catches at Words only, and lets the Sense go.

1736 H. Fielding Tumble-down Dick 8 Gin's Genius all these things reveals, Thou shalt perform, by slight of Heels.

1829 T. B. Macaulay Misc. Writings (1860) I. 353 A new sleight of tongue to make fools clap.

1865 Reader No. 123. 506/2 Hawking all his old wares, performing his sleight-of-mind.

in combination.1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1818) III. 114 Mere empty disputants, sleight-of-word Jugglers.

a. A cunning trick; an artful device or design; a piece of subtle dealing or policy, intended to deceive or mislead; an artifice, ruse, stratagem, or wile. Now rare.Common in the 16th and 17th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > a wile or cunning device

wrenchc888

craftOE

turnc1225

ginc1275

play?a1300

enginec1300

wrenkc1325

forsetc1330

sleightc1340

knackc1369

cautel138.

subtletya1393

wilea1400

tramc1400

wrinkle1402

artc1405

policy?1406

subtilityc1410

subtiltyc1440

jeopardy1487

jouk1513

pawka1522

frask1524

false point?1528

conveyance1534

compass1540

fineness1546

far-fetch?a1562

stratagem1561

finesse1562

entrapping1564

convoyance1578

lift1592

imagine1594

agitation1600

subtleship1614

artifice1620

navation1628

wimple1638

rig1640

lapwing stratagem1676

feint1679

undercraft1691

fly-flap1726

management1736

fakement1811

old tricka1822

fake1829

trickeration1940

swiftie1945

shrewdie1961

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception

wrenchc888

swikec893

braida1000

craftOE

wile1154

crookc1175

trokingc1175

guile?c1225

hocket1276

blink1303

errorc1320

guileryc1330

sleightc1340

knackc1369

deceitc1380

japec1380

gaudc1386

syllogism1387

mazec1390

mowa1393

train?a1400

trantc1400

abusionc1405

creekc1405

trickc1412

trayc1430

lirtc1440

quaint?a1450

touch1481

pawka1522

false point?1528

practice1533

crink1534

flim-flamc1538

bobc1540

fetcha1547

abuse1551

block1553

wrinklec1555

far-fetch?a1562

blirre1570

slampant1577

ruse1581

forgery1582

crank1588

plait1589

crossbite1591

cozenage1592

lock1598

quiblin1605

foist1607

junt1608

firk1611

overreach?1615

fob1622

ludification1623

knick-knacka1625

flam1632

dodge1638

gimcrack1639

fourbe1654

juggle1664

strategy1672

jilt1683

disingenuity1691

fun1699

jugglementa1708

spring1753

shavie1767

rig?1775

deception1794

Yorkshire bite1795

fakement1811

fake1829

practical1833

deceptivity1843

tread-behind1844

fly1861

schlenter1864

Sinonism1864

racket1869

have1885

ficelle1890

wheeze1903

fast one1912

roughie1914

spun-yarn trick1916

fastie1931

phoney baloney1933

fake-out1955

okey-doke1964

mind-fuck1971

β.

c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 1181 Pride and pompe and covatyse, And vayn sleghtes, and qwayntyse.

c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 293 Þei bryngen up newe sleiȝtis of covetise.

c1400 N. Love tr. Bonaventura Mirror Life Christ (1908) 142 Ȝif thou wilt knowe the sleiȝtes of the deuel and be not begiled with his false suggestiouns.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 153 God takyth an othe after þe symple vnderstondyng, & noȝt after wyles & sleyȝtes.

1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 6^v As Leo..in his boke of sleightes of warre telleth.

1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 15 in Jewell House This is a prettie sleight to deceaue the Purueyor.

1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London ii. sig. C2^v He resolues therefore to make his entrance, not by the sword, but by some sleyght.

1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 230 The manner of guarding the Sea and the subtile sleights they made use of for that purpose.

1735 J. Swift Author upon Himself in Wks. II. 347 His watchful Friends preserve him by a Sleight.

1759 R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania 224 We are plain People, unpractised in the Sleights and Artifices of Controversy.

1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk (1869) 2nd Ser. i. 13 A rare fellow..of infinite sleights and evasions.

1875 E. White Life in Christ (1878) v. xxviii. 463 The feminine sleights of forgetting or over~laying the daily remembrance of the terrible fact.

γ. 1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. vi. i. 161 Such slights also have the alewives for the utterance of this drinke.1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. D4^v We haue found out a slight to hammer it to anie heresie whatsoeuer.a1627 T. Middleton More Dissemblers besides Women iv. ii, in 2 New Playes (1657) 53 Let your sleights be fine, facetious.1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 128 All thy tricks and slights to cheat, And sell thy Carrion for good meat.1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 132 A variety of slights, deceits, impostures,..and depredations.

b. A feat of jugglery or legerdemain; a trick or action performed with great dexterity, esp. so quickly as to deceive the eye.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > legerdemain, etc. > [noun] > a trick

colea1307

playa1475

conveyance1534

legerdemain?1544

prank1555

convoyance1578

sleight1596

pass1599

paviea1605

trick1609

sleight of handa1626

hocus-pocus1647

juggle1664

hocus-trickc1680

passe-passe1687

jugglementa1708

thaumaturgics1721

necromantics1745

conjuration1820

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. ix. sig. T6 For he in slights and iugling feates did flow, And of legierdemayne the mysteries did know.

1609 Bible (Douay) I. Exod. vii. comm. Other strange thinges done by enchanters..are not in deede true miracles, but..sleights, by quicknes and nimblenes of hand, called legier-demain.

1699 S. Garth Dispensary iii. 33 That Jugler which another's Slight will show, But teaches how the World his own may know.

1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 145 Taking the largest Buds,..with a very quick Slight before the Sap is dry, put them into a little Incision..in the Bark.

1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 22 Sleights of art and feats of strength went round.

1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iii. iii. 158 The sleight of casting up a certain number of sharp instruments into the air, and catching them alternately in their fall.

a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) iii. 108 A curious and elaborate representation of the sleights of alchemy.

1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 532 The various sleights [in card-tricks] above described.

†c. A design or pattern. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun]

device1399

vicea1400

work?a1475

pattern1581

sleight1590

figure1609

design1670

wile1849

patterning1860

key band1881

maggot1925

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vii. sig. G2^v Thereby his mortall blade full comely hong In yuory sheath, ycaru'd with curious slights.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† sleightadj.

Forms: Middle English sleyghte, 1500s sleyght, slight, 1500s–1600s sleight.

Etymology: < sleight n.¹

Obsolete.

1. Marked or characterized by subtle craft, cunning, or strategy; artful, crafty, wily.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective]

warec888

craftyOE

hinderyeapc1000

yepec1000

foxc1175

slya1200

hinderc1200

quaint?c1225

wrenchfulc1225

wiltfula1250

wilyc1330

subtle1340

cautelous138.

sleightful1380

subtile1387

enginousa1393

wilfula1400

wilyc1407

sleighty1412

serpentinec1422

ginnousa1425

wittya1425

semyc1440

artificial?a1475

sleight1495

slapea1500

shrewdc1525

craftly1526

foxy1528

gleering?1533

foxish1535

insidious1545

vafrous1548

wily beguile1550

wilely1556

fine1559

todly1571

practic1585

subdolous1588

captious1590

witryff1598

cautel1606

cunninga1616

versute1616

shiftfula1618

artificious1624

insidiary1625

canny1628

lapwing-like1638

pawky?a1640

tricksome1648

callid1656

versutious1660

artful1663

slim1674

dexterous1701

trickish1705

supple1710

slid1719

vulpinary1721

tricksy1766

trickful1775

sneck-drawing1786

tricky1786

louche1819

sneck-drawn1820

slyish1828

vulpine1830

kokum1839

spidery1843

dodgy1861

ladino1863

carney1881

slinky1951

1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxvi. 461 Some [fish] ben wonderly sleyghte [Bodl. MS. slyȝe] and wyly to scape.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxlix*. f. lxxx Gryffon hauynge suspeccion to y^e Saxons that were on his partye leste they wolde betraye hym,..made for that tyme a sleyght agrement.

1547 tr. A. de Marcourt Bk. Marchauntes (new ed.) b v b In their practyke they be sowple and sleight.

1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries iii. 113 The Enemy..went on with all the cunning and slight meanes that possibly coulde bee deuised.

2. Skilful, skilled; expert, clever.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective]

prettyOE

hagherc1175

slyc1175

skilful1338

cunning1382

subtlec1390

subtilea1393

appertise1484

sleighta1513

practicatec1550

skilled1552

right-sided1575

canny1628

skilly1768

Oorlam1881

heads up1913

shit-hot1942

multi-skill1970

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. Prol. f. ii To remytte to theym that been sleyght And sharpe in lecture and haue kepte theyr studyes.

3. Of juggling, etc.: Dexterous, deceptive.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > legerdemain, etc. > [adjective]

juggling?1531

sleight1533

prestigious?1534

juggled1536

conjuring1552

legerdemain1576

prestigiatory1588

hocus-pocus1668

presto1826

prestidigital1856

prestidigitatory1860

prestidigitatorial1861

presto changeo1923

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective] > specifically of actions, qualities, etc.

craftyc1225

subtle1340

slyc1380

sleightlyc1402

subtilec1405

wilyc1407

sleighty1412

foxly1528

sleight1533

colubrinec1540

serpentical1546

fox-like1587

shrewd1589

vulpine1628

insidiating1632

serpentic1661

serpentary1681

artful1865

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deception by illusion, delusion > [adjective]

lyinga1225

deceptoryc1430

mockinga1529

sleight1533

prestigious?1534

illudinga1547

fallible1552

delusory1588

prestigiatory1588

illusory1599

delusive1607

deceptiousa1616

deludinga1616

flatteringa1616

delusorious1625

fallacious1626

ludificatorya1677

illusive1679

will-o'-the-wisp1682

prestigiating1716

shama1721

false1768

deceptitious1827

deceptional1830

phantasm1834

will-o'-the-wispish1842

will-o'-the-wispy1857

illusionistic1911

illusional1942

1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. iii. iv. f. clxxi^v Theyr false and abomynable blasphemouse lyes vppon Chrystes wordes,..theyr sleyght iugelynge ouer the brede.

1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Aviij Who..at his hands coulde gayne, A tallant by collusion, and sleight ligerdemayne.

a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 81 Besides a crafty sleight legerdemaine, there concur two notable untruths.

?1634–7 J. Milton Comus (MS Trinity Coll. Cambr.) 15 Thus I hurle My powder'd spells in to the spungie aire Of power to cheate the eye w^th sleight illusion.

Compounds

sleight-eared adj.

ΚΠ

1567 T. Drant in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie To Rdr. sig. *iiij Or if oure reader were not rather sleight earde, then cleareeyde.

sleight-handed adj.

ΚΠ

1648 J. Beaumont Psyche ix. cli. 148 There lay..quick Mutations, Sleight-handed Tricks, importunate Courtesies.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2021).

单词	sleight
释义	sleightn.¹ Brit. /slʌɪt/, U.S. /slaɪt/ Forms: α. Middle English sleahþe, Middle English sleiȝþe, Middle English sleȝþe ( sleghþe); Middle English slyhþe, slyȝth, sliȝth; also Middle English sleþþe, Middle English sliþe, slythe, sleiþe, sleyþe, Middle English sleithe, sleyth(e. β. Middle English sleȝt, sleghte, Middle English–1600s sleght; Middle English sleyhte, sleihte, Middle English sleyȝte, sleiȝt, Middle English–1500s sleyghte, sleighte, Middle English–1600s sleyght, Middle English– sleight (Middle English slieght, 1500s slaight); also Middle English–1600s sleyte, Middle English sleyt, 1500s sleite. γ. Middle English slyȝt, sliȝt, slyghte, Middle English–1500s slyght (1500s slyht), Middle English–1700s slight; ScottishMiddle English–1500s slycht, slicht (1500s slichte). Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymon: Norse slœ́gð. Etymology: Early Middle English slēȝþ , < Old Norse slœ́gð (Icelandic slægð , Norwegian sløgd ; Middle Swedish slögdh , Swedish slöjd sloyd n.), < slœ́g-r sly adj.For the change of the final -þ or -th to t compare height n. The three leading types of Middle English and later forms are illustrated under some of the senses below, and the following are instances of the chief variations from each of these:α. c1275 Laȝamon Brut 23345 Mid sleþþe he mot slakie loþe his bendes. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 177 Þey..fiteþ wiþ sleiþe and wiþ cauteles. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 317 Naso..techeþ sliþe of love craft.a1400 Gloss. in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 6 Calliditas, a queyntyse or a slythe.c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1859) ii. xlv. 51 By falshede, sleyth, and by extorcion.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 458/2 Sleythe, astucia.β. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7151 Knyghtes þat conne of sleytes.c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypsipyle. 1650 Thour the sleyte of hire enchauntement.14.. Promptorium Parvulorum 64/1 (K.) Cavtele, or sleyte,..cautela.c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 111 Þis þout is sterid to him bi sleyt of þe fend.1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Warwick viii Tooke the towne by sleyte.1577 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 56 To marke withall Ulisses Sleites.1621 F. Quarles Hadassa ii. Medit. sig. D3 Who playes a happy game with crafty sleyte.γ. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 166 With subtilitee or slycht.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) v. 488 He thoucht to virk with slicht.1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 160 Gif that he culd be slicht or ȝit ingyne.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 295 Be sum slichte and quyet craft. 1. Craft or cunning employed so as to deceive; deceitful, subtle, or wily dealing or policy; artifice, strategy, trickery. Now rare or Obsolete.In very common use down to the 17th cent., and frequently contrasted with strength, might, or force. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] listOE wiþercraftc1175 wilta1230 craftc1275 sleightc1275 engine?a1300 quaintisec1300 vaidiec1325 wilec1374 cautelc1375 sophistryc1385 quaintnessc1390 voisdie1390 havilon?a1400 foxeryc1400 subtletyc1400 undercraftc1400 practic?a1439 callidityc1450 policec1450 wilinessc1450 craftiness1484 gin1543 cautility1554 cunning1582 cautelousness1584 panurgy1586 policy1587 foxshipa1616 cunningnessa1625 subdolousness1635 dexterity1656 insidiousnessa1677 versuteness1685 pawkiness1687 sleight-hand1792 pawkery1820 vulpinism1851 downiness1865 foxiness1875 slimness1899 slypussness1908 α. c1275 Laȝamon Brut 17210 Hit was isaid wile, þat betere his sleahþe [v.r. liste] þane vuele strengþe. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4610 Þe Bretons wist hit wel ynow, Bot of þer sleigþe lystneþ now. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 301 To faren in þe feld & fonde wiþ slyhþe For to refe þe brod of briddus of heuene. a1400 Sir Degrev. 791 As wymmen conn mychel slyȝth. β. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8800 Strengþe ys god wyþ trauaille; Þer strengþe ne may, sleyght wil availle; Sleyght & connyng doþ many a chare.c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 931 Whan troye brought was to distruccioun By grekis sleyghte.c1440 York Myst. xxii. 88 Sen thy fadir may þe fende be sotill sleghte.1483 W. Caxton in tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 377/2 How they myght by sleyght and deceyte..falle on good crysten men.1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. iv. f. 21 His kynsefolkes..shoulde haue taken, eyther by sleyghte or force, as many of owre men.1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 23 Thear sleight and stratagems had beene discoouered easlye.1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 103 By which Kind of Sleight rather then Stratageme the Towne of Dam was taken.1650 S. Clarke Marrow Eccl. Hist. (1654) I. 44 The Devil striving against him with all the might and sleight that could be invented.1841 R. W. Emerson Conservative in Lect. in Wks. (1906) II. 270 Every interest did by right, or might, or sleight, get represented.γ. a1400 Rom. Rose 3158 It preveth wonder welle, Thy slight and tresoun every deelle.c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 13036 ‘Now,’ seyde he, ‘kythe ȝoure slyght! Let se now ȝoure qwayntyse’.1578 T. Tymme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Genesis 297 Satan used his subtle slight to discredit the miracles wrought by God.1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 17 Much wrought they with their power, much with their slight.1652 T. Urquhart Εκσκυβαλαυρον 62 Who by hook and crook,..slight and might..having feathered their nests to some purpose.1699 W. Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. 565 He endeavoured to ward this Blow, by Slight rather than Force.1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) ii. 16 Some dire Disaster, or by Force, or Slight. †2. Prudence; wisdom, knowledge. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [noun] righteousnesseOE snoterc950 witnessc950 wisdomOE insightc1175 witc1175 smeighnessc1200 sleighta1300 witternessa1300 inwitc1305 wittiheadc1315 wisenessc1320 witterheda1325 wisehede1340 slyness1357 sapience1377 wisdomhood138. prudencea1382 sapienta1400 sentencec1400 advice?a1439 sophyc1440 profunditya1500 wittiness1543 Minerva1601 depth1605 Sophia1649 visionariness1817 a1300 E.E. Psalter civ. 20 He lered his princes als him~self reght, And his aldemen teched sleght. c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 7697 Þat wate he best thurgh wytt and sleght, What space þat way contened of heght. c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 55 Of his [a king's] purueyance and his sleghte. 3. a. Skill, skilfulness, cleverness, or dexterity in doing or making something, in handling a tool or weapon, etc. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > a bodily skill > manual skill > dexterity hagherlaikc1175 sleight1390 sleight of handa1500 dexterity1548 manage1598 dexterousness1622 neat-handedness1839 β. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 127 With gret sleihte Of werk~manschipe it was begrave. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxix. 131 Þe whilk was made thurgh sleight and wirking of men. 1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xix. ix. 788 He..put his ryght hand and his suerd to that stroke, and soo putte it on syde with grete sleyghte. 1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Fviij Tryflinge things, and things in dede Of very slender sleight. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. 4 b And as it is not possible without great labour and sleight to take awaie the false imagination [etc.]. 1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) i. 215 To it they go with great nimbleness, sleight, and discretion. 1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil ii. iv. 237 He manages with..a Slight particular to himself. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. iv. 66 With what a sleight..he pushed down my drawn sword. 1825 W. Scott Betrothed iii, in Tales Crusaders II. 63 I have already given you a proof of sleight which has alarmed even your experience. c1855 Mrs. Moodie in Borthwick Brit. Amer. Reader (1860) 185 The squaw with a peculiar sleight threw her papoose over her shoulder. γ. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1289 Deuised he þe vesselment, þe vestures clene, Wyth slyȝt of his ciences, his souerayn to loue.a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 31 On the syde a doore, with slyght, Beneyth shal thou take.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10673 Mony wondit þat wegh.., And mony slogh..with slight of his bowe.1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 324 Suche as are doonne by the slight and arte of man.1689 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum (ed. 2) xi. 111 People stand and wonder at the slight and strength, by which they see Salmons leap.1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 311 His knife see Rustic-labour dight, An' cut you up wi' ready slight.1821 J. Baillie W. Wallace in Metrical Legends xxx As house~wife's slight, so finely true, The lengthen'd thread from distaff drew. b. Const. in or at (something). ΚΠ 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 250 The Romanis..in battell sic prattik had and slycht. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads ii. 637 Thaumaciæ,..and Olison the cold, Duke Philoctetes gouerned, in darts of finest sleight. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 102 As these Western men do bear away the Bell for might and sleight in wrastling. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 174 They have a wonderful slight in stealing. 1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. (1709) 204 Not knowing the Slight he had at packing the Cards. 1803 Ann. Rev. 1 31 Docility to instruction, sleight in the mechanic arts. 1896 Dial. Notes (Amer. Dial. Soc.) 1 424 She had a good slight at hoein'. 4. a. The precise art or method, the special knack or trick, of (doing) something. Now dialect †Also with other constructions. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or adroitness > a skill or knack featc1386 sleighta1400 art1503 knack1581 quirka1616 tricka1616 to get the hang of1845 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6662 A tabernacle all for to dight, þarof he sceud þam þe slight. ?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. B.iii Ye know it is no whyt my sleyght To be a iudge in maters of weyght.1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxviii. xxxvii. 697 The Balears..do exceed and surpasse others in the cast and slight thereof.1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme ii. sig. C3 Tis the slight To be remembred, when you'r out of sight.1642 D. Rogers Naaman 368 Get once the slight of it (as we say) and then halfe the worke is at an end.a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 210 As Scriveners take more Pains to learn the slight Of making Knots, than all the Hands they write.1861 J. Barr Poems 10 (E.D.D.) Weel doon, my lass!.. My word! Ye hae the slight o't.1882 Jamieson's Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (new ed.) at Slicht I hae the slicht o't noo. b. spec. Skill in jugglery or conjuring; sleight of hand. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > legerdemain, etc. > [noun] colea1307 jugglingc1380 tregetryc1380 jugglerya1400 tregettingc1440 legerdemaina1450 jocularya1500 conveyance1531 prestigiation?c1550 conjuring1577 figgum1631 prestigion1635 sleight of handa1640 hocus-pocus1647 sleight1664 jugglementa1708 thaumaturgy1727 conjurationa1734 ventriloquism1797 magic1831 prestidigitation1841 hocus1854 conjury1855 the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > a bodily skill > manual skill > dexterity > specifically in juggling or conjuring sleight of handa1640 sleight1664 1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. iii. 132 Lookers-on feel most delight, That least perceive a Juglers slight. 1850 ‘S. Yendys’ Roman ii. 19 The juggler's sleight, That with facility of motion cheats The eye. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 25 Soon he 'gan to use his magic sleight: Into a lithe leopard, and a hugging bear He turned him. 5. Adroitness, activity, smartness, nimbleness of mind, body, etc.In later use after or influenced by sleight of hand n. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > bodily movement > [noun] > qualities of bodily movement > agility or nimbleness lightnessc1350 delivernessa1382 sleightc1385 deliverancec1410 agility?a1475 deliverhead1493 nimblenessa1500 quiverness?1548 delivery1590 legerity1590 nimbless1596 levity1607 agileness1653 airiness1731 spryness1865 nippiness1916 the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [noun] > skill or adroitness subtletyc1300 sleightc1385 subtiltyc1405 subtilityc1415 facility1532 handsomeness1550 address?1577 neatnessa1627 adroitness1683 hability1840 deftness1853 niftiness1878 slickness1895 eptitude1967 c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Ariadne. 2084 Sende you grace and sleyght of hert also Yow to defende. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 167 He chastede þe Schytes þat myȝte nouȝt be overcome toforehonde by sleyþe of witte. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Tollem. MS) xiii. xxix Also fische ben diuerse in scharpnesse of felynge and in sliþe [1495 sleyghte] of wit. a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) II. 206 He has a foolish Slight of Wit, that catches at Words only, and lets the Sense go. 1736 H. Fielding Tumble-down Dick 8 Gin's Genius all these things reveals, Thou shalt perform, by slight of Heels. 1829 T. B. Macaulay Misc. Writings (1860) I. 353 A new sleight of tongue to make fools clap. 1865 Reader No. 123. 506/2 Hawking all his old wares, performing his sleight-of-mind. in combination.1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1818) III. 114 Mere empty disputants, sleight-of-word Jugglers. 6. a. A cunning trick; an artful device or design; a piece of subtle dealing or policy, intended to deceive or mislead; an artifice, ruse, stratagem, or wile. Now rare.Common in the 16th and 17th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > a wile or cunning device wrenchc888 craftOE turnc1225 ginc1275 play?a1300 enginec1300 wrenkc1325 forsetc1330 sleightc1340 knackc1369 cautel138. subtletya1393 wilea1400 tramc1400 wrinkle1402 artc1405 policy?1406 subtilityc1410 subtiltyc1440 jeopardy1487 jouk1513 pawka1522 frask1524 false point?1528 conveyance1534 compass1540 fineness1546 far-fetch?a1562 stratagem1561 finesse1562 entrapping1564 convoyance1578 lift1592 imagine1594 agitation1600 subtleship1614 artifice1620 navation1628 wimple1638 rig1640 lapwing stratagem1676 feint1679 undercraft1691 fly-flap1726 management1736 fakement1811 old tricka1822 fake1829 trickeration1940 swiftie1945 shrewdie1961 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception wrenchc888 swikec893 braida1000 craftOE wile1154 crookc1175 trokingc1175 guile?c1225 hocket1276 blink1303 errorc1320 guileryc1330 sleightc1340 knackc1369 deceitc1380 japec1380 gaudc1386 syllogism1387 mazec1390 mowa1393 train?a1400 trantc1400 abusionc1405 creekc1405 trickc1412 trayc1430 lirtc1440 quaint?a1450 touch1481 pawka1522 false point?1528 practice1533 crink1534 flim-flamc1538 bobc1540 fetcha1547 abuse1551 block1553 wrinklec1555 far-fetch?a1562 blirre1570 slampant1577 ruse1581 forgery1582 crank1588 plait1589 crossbite1591 cozenage1592 lock1598 quiblin1605 foist1607 junt1608 firk1611 overreach?1615 fob1622 ludification1623 knick-knacka1625 flam1632 dodge1638 gimcrack1639 fourbe1654 juggle1664 strategy1672 jilt1683 disingenuity1691 fun1699 jugglementa1708 spring1753 shavie1767 rig?1775 deception1794 Yorkshire bite1795 fakement1811 fake1829 practical1833 deceptivity1843 tread-behind1844 fly1861 schlenter1864 Sinonism1864 racket1869 have1885 ficelle1890 wheeze1903 fast one1912 roughie1914 spun-yarn trick1916 fastie1931 phoney baloney1933 fake-out1955 okey-doke1964 mind-fuck1971 β. c1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 1181 Pride and pompe and covatyse, And vayn sleghtes, and qwayntyse. c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 293 Þei bryngen up newe sleiȝtis of covetise. c1400 N. Love tr. Bonaventura Mirror Life Christ (1908) 142 Ȝif thou wilt knowe the sleiȝtes of the deuel and be not begiled with his false suggestiouns. c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 153 God takyth an othe after þe symple vnderstondyng, & noȝt after wyles & sleyȝtes. 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 6^v As Leo..in his boke of sleightes of warre telleth. 1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 15 in Jewell House This is a prettie sleight to deceaue the Purueyor. 1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London ii. sig. C2^v He resolues therefore to make his entrance, not by the sword, but by some sleyght. 1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 230 The manner of guarding the Sea and the subtile sleights they made use of for that purpose. 1735 J. Swift Author upon Himself in Wks. II. 347 His watchful Friends preserve him by a Sleight. 1759 R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania 224 We are plain People, unpractised in the Sleights and Artifices of Controversy. 1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk (1869) 2nd Ser. i. 13 A rare fellow..of infinite sleights and evasions. 1875 E. White Life in Christ (1878) v. xxviii. 463 The feminine sleights of forgetting or over~laying the daily remembrance of the terrible fact. γ. 1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. vi. i. 161 Such slights also have the alewives for the utterance of this drinke.1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. D4^v We haue found out a slight to hammer it to anie heresie whatsoeuer.a1627 T. Middleton More Dissemblers besides Women iv. ii, in 2 New Playes (1657) 53 Let your sleights be fine, facetious.1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 128 All thy tricks and slights to cheat, And sell thy Carrion for good meat.1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 132 A variety of slights, deceits, impostures,..and depredations. b. A feat of jugglery or legerdemain; a trick or action performed with great dexterity, esp. so quickly as to deceive the eye. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > legerdemain, etc. > [noun] > a trick colea1307 playa1475 conveyance1534 legerdemain?1544 prank1555 convoyance1578 sleight1596 pass1599 paviea1605 trick1609 sleight of handa1626 hocus-pocus1647 juggle1664 hocus-trickc1680 passe-passe1687 jugglementa1708 thaumaturgics1721 necromantics1745 conjuration1820 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. ix. sig. T6 For he in slights and iugling feates did flow, And of legierdemayne the mysteries did know. View more context for this quotation 1609 Bible (Douay) I. Exod. vii. comm. Other strange thinges done by enchanters..are not in deede true miracles, but..sleights, by quicknes and nimblenes of hand, called legier-demain. 1699 S. Garth Dispensary iii. 33 That Jugler which another's Slight will show, But teaches how the World his own may know. 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 145 Taking the largest Buds,..with a very quick Slight before the Sap is dry, put them into a little Incision..in the Bark. 1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 22 Sleights of art and feats of strength went round. 1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iii. iii. 158 The sleight of casting up a certain number of sharp instruments into the air, and catching them alternately in their fall. a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) iii. 108 A curious and elaborate representation of the sleights of alchemy. 1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 532 The various sleights [in card-tricks] above described. †c. A design or pattern. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] device1399 vicea1400 work?a1475 pattern1581 sleight1590 figure1609 design1670 wile1849 patterning1860 key band1881 maggot1925 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vii. sig. G2^v Thereby his mortall blade full comely hong In yuory sheath, ycaru'd with curious slights. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † sleightn.² Forms: Old English sliht, slyht, slæht, Old English, Middle English sleht, Middle English sleȝht, sleþt, Middle English sleȝte, sleiȝt. Etymology: Old English slyht , etc. = slięht ( < sleahti ), from the stem of sléan* ( < sleahan ) slay v.¹ Compare slaught n. Obsolete. Slaughter. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [noun] sleightc893 wal-slaught?a900 qualeeOE deathOE swordc1000 morthOE slaughta1225 destroyingc1300 drepingc1300 martyrdomc1325 murderc1325 mortc1330 sleighterc1330 slaughter1338 iron and firea1387 murraina1387 manslaughtera1400 martyre?a1400 quella1425 occision?a1430 decease1513 destruction1526 slaughting1535 butchery?1536 butchering1572 massacrea1578 slaughterdom1592 slaughtering1597 carnage1600 massacring1600 slaughtery1604 internecion1610 decimationa1613 destroy1616 trucidation1623 stragea1632 sword-wrack1646 interemption1656 carnifice1657 panolethry1668 butcher work1808 bloodbath1814 populicide1824 man-slaughtering1851 battue1864 mass murder1917 genocide1944 overkill1957 c893 tr. Orosius Hist.* v. xi. 238 Ægþer ge on þeoda forhergiunge, ge on cyninga slihtum, ge on hungre. a1000 in Assmann Ags. Hom. xv. 177 Sume ic slæpende beswac,..sume mid slehte & sume on some. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1993 Swiðe heo was sari for sorehfulle þan slehte [c1300 Otho sleþte]. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1273 Bi-tweonen heom aræs..sleȝht [c1300 Otho sleþt] & muchel seorwa. c1315 Shoreham iii. 245 Ofte þe mannes sleȝte aryst, Were man hyȝt weneþ wel lyte. 1330 Arth. & Merl. 6654 (Kölbing) Þer was miche sleiȝt of man. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2021). sleightn.³ /sleɪt/ Forms: Also 1600s slaight, 1800s slait, slate. Etymology: Of obscure origin. dialect. A pasture, esp. one for sheep; chiefly in combination sheep-sleight. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > grassland > [noun] > pasture > sheep pasture heafc1525 sheep-gate1535 herdwick1537 fold-course1538 wether gang1561 sheep-walk1586 sheep's course1623 sheep-weald1634 sheep-rake1653 sleighta1697 sheep-leasea1722 sheep-sleighta1722 hirsel1822 sheep-run1826 sheep-heaf1844 shepherd land1892 heft1960 a1697 J. Aubrey Wiltshire (1862) 10 Anciently the Leghs (now corruptly called Sleights), i.e., pastures, were noble large grounds. 1811 T. Davis Gen. View Agric. Wilts. (new ed.) 264 A sheep-down is frequently called a sheep-sleight. 1854 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 15 ii. 438 Much benefit is obtained by chalking those sheep sleights retained as permanent pastures. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online December 2020). † sleightadj. Forms: Middle English sleyghte, 1500s sleyght, slight, 1500s–1600s sleight. Etymology: < sleight n.¹ Obsolete. 1. Marked or characterized by subtle craft, cunning, or strategy; artful, crafty, wily. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective] warec888 craftyOE hinderyeapc1000 yepec1000 foxc1175 slya1200 hinderc1200 quaint?c1225 wrenchfulc1225 wiltfula1250 wilyc1330 subtle1340 cautelous138. sleightful1380 subtile1387 enginousa1393 wilfula1400 wilyc1407 sleighty1412 serpentinec1422 ginnousa1425 wittya1425 semyc1440 artificial?a1475 sleight1495 slapea1500 shrewdc1525 craftly1526 foxy1528 gleering?1533 foxish1535 insidious1545 vafrous1548 wily beguile1550 wilely1556 fine1559 todly1571 practic1585 subdolous1588 captious1590 witryff1598 cautel1606 cunninga1616 versute1616 shiftfula1618 artificious1624 insidiary1625 canny1628 lapwing-like1638 pawky?a1640 tricksome1648 callid1656 versutious1660 artful1663 slim1674 dexterous1701 trickish1705 supple1710 slid1719 vulpinary1721 tricksy1766 trickful1775 sneck-drawing1786 tricky1786 louche1819 sneck-drawn1820 slyish1828 vulpine1830 kokum1839 spidery1843 dodgy1861 ladino1863 carney1881 slinky1951 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxvi. 461 Some [fish] ben wonderly sleyghte [Bodl. MS. slyȝe] and wyly to scape. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxlix. f. lxxx Gryffon hauynge suspeccion to y^e Saxons that were on his partye leste they wolde betraye hym,..made for that tyme a sleyght agrement. 1547 tr. A. de Marcourt Bk. Marchauntes* (new ed.) b v b In their practyke they be sowple and sleight. 1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries iii. 113 The Enemy..went on with all the cunning and slight meanes that possibly coulde bee deuised. 2. Skilful, skilled; expert, clever. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] prettyOE hagherc1175 slyc1175 skilful1338 cunning1382 subtlec1390 subtilea1393 appertise1484 sleighta1513 practicatec1550 skilled1552 right-sided1575 canny1628 skilly1768 Oorlam1881 heads up1913 shit-hot1942 multi-skill1970 a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. Prol. f. ii To remytte to theym that been sleyght And sharpe in lecture and haue kepte theyr studyes. 3. Of juggling, etc.: Dexterous, deceptive. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > legerdemain, etc. > [adjective] juggling?1531 sleight1533 prestigious?1534 juggled1536 conjuring1552 legerdemain1576 prestigiatory1588 hocus-pocus1668 presto1826 prestidigital1856 prestidigitatory1860 prestidigitatorial1861 presto changeo1923 the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective] > specifically of actions, qualities, etc. craftyc1225 subtle1340 slyc1380 sleightlyc1402 subtilec1405 wilyc1407 sleighty1412 foxly1528 sleight1533 colubrinec1540 serpentical1546 fox-like1587 shrewd1589 vulpine1628 insidiating1632 serpentic1661 serpentary1681 artful1865 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deception by illusion, delusion > [adjective] lyinga1225 deceptoryc1430 mockinga1529 sleight1533 prestigious?1534 illudinga1547 fallible1552 delusory1588 prestigiatory1588 illusory1599 delusive1607 deceptiousa1616 deludinga1616 flatteringa1616 delusorious1625 fallacious1626 ludificatorya1677 illusive1679 will-o'-the-wisp1682 prestigiating1716 shama1721 false1768 deceptitious1827 deceptional1830 phantasm1834 will-o'-the-wispish1842 will-o'-the-wispy1857 illusionistic1911 illusional1942 1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. iii. iv. f. clxxi^v Theyr false and abomynable blasphemouse lyes vppon Chrystes wordes,..theyr sleyght iugelynge ouer the brede. 1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Aviij Who..at his hands coulde gayne, A tallant by collusion, and sleight ligerdemayne. a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 81 Besides a crafty sleight legerdemaine, there concur two notable untruths. ?1634–7 J. Milton Comus (MS Trinity Coll. Cambr.) 15 Thus I hurle My powder'd spells in to the spungie aire Of power to cheate the eye w^th sleight illusion. Compounds sleight-eared adj. ΚΠ 1567 T. Drant in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie To Rdr. sig. iiij Or if oure reader were not rather sleight earde, then cleareeyde. sleight-handed adj. ΚΠ 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche* ix. cli. 148 There lay..quick Mutations, Sleight-handed Tricks, importunate Courtesies. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2021). sleightv. Etymology: < sleight n.¹ Now dialect. †1. intransitive. To deal guilefully. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deceive [verb (intransitive)] swikec1000 fokena1275 beguilec1305 deceivec1340 sleight1530 cloyne?1548 cog?1577 sham1678 hocus-pocus1687 spruce1916 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 721/1 I sleyght with one, I deale craftelye or subtelly with hym. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 721/1 Truste hym nat, he sleyghteth with every bodye he dealeth with. 2. transitive. To deceive, beguile, cheat. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deceive [verb (transitive)] aschrenchc885 blendc888 swikec950 belirtOE beswike971 blencha1000 blenka1000 belieOE becatchc1175 trokec1175 beguile?c1225 biwrench?c1225 guile?c1225 trechec1230 unordainc1300 blink1303 deceivec1320 feintc1330 trechetc1330 misusea1382 blind1382 forgo1382 beglose1393 troil1393 turnc1405 lirt?a1425 abuse?a1439 ludify1447 amuse1480 wilec1480 trump1487 delude?a1505 sile1508 betrumpa1522 blear1530 aveugle1543 mislippen1552 pot1560 disglose1565 oversile1568 blaze1570 blirre1570 bleck1573 overtake1581 fail1590 bafflea1592 blanch1592 geck?a1600 hallucinate1604 hoodwink1610 intrigue1612 guggle1617 nigglea1625 nose-wipe1628 cog1629 cheat1637 flam1637 nurse1639 jilt1660 top1663 chaldese1664 bilk1672 bejuggle1680 nuzzlec1680 snub1694 bite1709 nebus1712 fugle1719 to take in1740 have?1780 quirk1791 rum1812 rattlesnake1818 chicane1835 to suck in1842 mogue1854 blinker1865 to have on1867 mag1869 sleight1876 bumfuzzle1878 swop1890 wool1890 spruce1917 jive1928 shit1934 smokescreen1950 dick1964 1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Slyted, or Sleighted, cheated. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2020). < n.¹c1275n.²c893n.³a1697adj.1495v.1530
随便看	gather the gauntlet gather to a head gather to store gather together gather up gather up one's crumbs gather up the threads gather way gather wool gather-bag gather-dam gatherable gatherbag gatherdam gathered gatherer gatherer up gatherers gathering gathering piece gathering-board gathering-coal gathering-cry gathering-ground gathering-hoop

sleightn.1

† sleightn.2

sleightn.3

† sleightadj.

Compounds

sleightv.

sleightn.¹

† sleightn.²

sleightn.³