SLOUGH


Meaning of SLOUGH in English

I. ˈslü, ˈslau̇; in the US ( exc NewEng ) ˈslü is usual for sense 1 with those to whom the sense is familiar; Britain usually ˈslau̇ for both senses noun

Etymology: Middle English sloughe, slo, from Old English slōh; akin to Middle High German slouche ditch

Date: before 12th century

1.

a. : a place of deep mud or mire

b. also slew or slue ˈslü

(1) : swamp

(2) : an inlet on a river ; also : backwater

(3) : a creek in a marsh or tide flat

2. : a state of moral degradation or spiritual dejection

• sloughy -ē adjective

II. verb

Date: 1846

transitive verb

: to engulf in a slough

intransitive verb

: to plod through or as if through mud : slog

III. ˈsləf noun

also sluff

Etymology: Middle English slughe; akin to Middle High German slūch snakeskin

Date: 14th century

1. : the cast-off skin of a snake

2. : a mass of dead tissue separating from an ulcer

3. : something that may be shed or cast off

IV. ˈsləf verb

also sluff

Date: 1720

intransitive verb

1.

a. : to become shed or cast off

b. : to cast off one's skin

c. : to separate in the form of dead tissue from living tissue

2. : to crumble slowly and fall away

transitive verb

1. : to cast off

2.

a. : to get rid of or discard as irksome, objectionable, or disadvantageous — usually used with off

b. : to dispose of (a losing card in bridge) by discarding

Synonyms: see discard

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.