Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

slaught-beam

/ˈslɔːt.biːm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.38 in modern English

Syllables
slaugh-t-beam
IPA
/ˈslɔːt.biːm/
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Barrier.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

  • "Raise the slaught-beam."

Etymology

Probably a calque of Dutch slagboom or German Schlagbaum. These are etymologically equivalent to English slay + beam, meaning a beam that can be banged (“slain”) down. The word slaught (related with slay) would have been chosen because it is phonetically closer to the continental words. Alternatively it might be a phono-semantic matching of Dutch sluitboom, which has the same sense, but literally means “closing beam”. In this case, however, the etymological relation between the element slaught and the above-mentioned words would be a curious coincidence.

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈslɔːt.biːm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

slaught-beams (plural) slaught-boom (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce slaught-beam?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈslɔːt.biːm/.
What does slaught-beam mean?
Barrier.
Where does slaught-beam come from?
Probably a calque of Dutch slagboom or German Schlagbaum. These are etymologically equivalent to English slay + beam, meaning a beam that can be banged (“slain”) down. The word slaught (related with slay) would have been chosen because it is phonetically closer to the continental words. Alternatively it might be a phono-semantic matching of Dutch sluitboom, which has the same sense, but literally means “closing beam”. In this case, however, the etymological relation between the element slaught and the above-mentioned words would be a curious coincidence.

How to pronounce slaught-beam

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “slaught-beam”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈslɔːt.biːm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “slaught-beam”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “slaught-beam” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.