I. R ˈslər, + vowel -lər.; - R -lə̄, + suffixal vowel -lər. also -lə̄r, + vowel in a following word -lər. or -lə̄ also -lə̄r verb
( slurred ; slurred ; slurring ; slurs )
Etymology: probably of Low German origin; akin to Low German slurrn to shuffle, drag the feet, Middle Low German slūren to drag, trail — more at slur (to soil)
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to slide (a die) so as to cheat : trick
2.
a. : to slide or slip over without due mention, consideration, or emphasis : treat superficially or dissemblingly — often used with over
the problem of the illegitimate child … is slurred over — C.W.Cunnington
slur over certain facts in one's argument
slurring over the significance of the letter — Times Literary Supplement
b. : to perform (as a duty) hurriedly : skimp
let him not slur his lesson — R.W.Emerson
wherefore slur the … ceremony — Alfred Tennyson
3.
a. : to perform (two or more successive musical tones of different pitch) in a smooth or connected manner
b. : to mark (notes) with a slur
4. : to reduce, make a substitution for, or omit (a sound or succession of sounds that occurs or that would occur in speech regarded as exemplary) : make such reduction, substitution, or omission in one's utterance of (as a word or phrase)
intransitive verb
1. dialect chiefly England : slip , slide
slur on ice
2. : drag , shuffle
slurring through ankle-deep water — W.E.M.Campbell
II. noun
( -s )
1. obsolete
a. : a glide in dancing
b. : a sliding of dice in an attempt to cheat
2.
a. : a curved line ◠ or ◡ connecting musical notes that are to be sung to the same syllable or performed without a break (as with one stroke of a bow) — called also bind ; compare tie
b. : the combination of two or more slurred tones
3. : a slurring manner of speech
4. or slur cam or slur cock : a device for depressing the sinkers in knitting machines successively by passing over them
III. verb
( slurred ; slurred ; slurring ; slurs )
Etymology: obsolete English dialect slur thin watery mud, from Middle English sloor; akin to Middle High German slier mud, Middle Low German slūren to drag, trail, Middle Dutch sluren to drag, trail, Norwegian dialect slura to hang loose, drag, Lithuanian slugti to diminish, become small and probably to Gothic slawan to be silent; basic meaning: to hang loose, be slack
transitive verb
1. dialect chiefly England : to soil by smearing : besmirch , sully
2. : to cast aspersions upon : run down : disparage
was always slurring her fellow workers
slurred his integrity — Marguerite A. Brown
3. : to make indistinct : obscure , mask
with periods, points, and tropes he slurs his crimes — John Dryden
4. : blur 1
intransitive verb
: to slip so as to blur or make slurs — used of a sheet being printed
IV. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : an insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo : aspersion , calumny
his election was due to … last minute racial slurs on his opponent — William Cox
the cowardly slurs of scandalmongers
b. : stain , blot , stigma
his actions cast a slur on his profession
2. : a blurred or doubled spot or area in printed matter caused by the sliding of the paper on the printing surface at the moment of impression : mackle , smudge