sliver
/ˈslɪvə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.99 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A strand, or slender roll, of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state, produced by a carding machine and ready for the roving or slubbing which precedes spinning.
noun
A small amount of something; a drop in the bucket; a shred.
Example Sentences
- "This is the tasting ritual, the lay Eucharist of cheese. The buyer squeezes the sliver of cheese between his fingers to test its consistency, sniffs it, and then tastes it as delicately as if it were the most subtle caviar."
- "A sliver of bone has punctured a lung, and a small surgical operation was needed to remove it (would he like to keep the bone as a memento?--it is in a phial by his bedside)."
- "to sliver wood"
- "slips of yew, Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse"
- "They'll sliver thee like a turnip."
Etymology
From Middle English slivere, sliver from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave, split”), from Old English slīfan (as in tōslīfan (“to split, split up”)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈslɪvə/
- British English: /ˈslɪvə/
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- Transitive verb