sly
/slaɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
adv
name
A diminutive of the male given name Sylvester.
name
A surname
Example Sentences
- "a sly trick"
Etymology
From Middle English sly, sley, sleigh, sleiȝ, from Old Norse slǿgr (“sly, cunning”, literally “capable of hitting or striking”), from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz (“lively, agile, cunning, sly, striking”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, throw”). Cognate with Icelandic slægur (“crafty, sly”), Norwegian Nynorsk sløg (“sly”). Related to sleight, slay. In all likelihood, however, unrelated with Saterland Frisian slau (“sly, crafty”), Dutch sluw (“sly, cunning”), Low German slu (“sly, cunning”), German schlau (“clever, crafty”). Doublet of sleight and slöjd
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: sly, slǿgr, *slōgiz, *slak-