[slew] past of slay
[2]slew var of slough [3]slew vb [origin unknown] vt (ca. 1769) 1: to turn (as a telescope or a ship's spar) about a fixed point that is usu. the axis
2: to cause to skid: veer "~ a car around a turn" ~ vi 1: to turn, twist, or swing about: pivot
2: skid [4]slew n [perh. fr. Ir slua army, host, throng, fr. OIr sluag; akin to Lith slaugyti to tend] (1839): a large number "a ~ of books"