slattern
/ˈslætɚn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.49 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
One who is uncareful or unconcerned about appearance or surroundings, usually said of a dirty and untidy woman.
Dated
Example Sentences
- "3. Cookery is familiar to her, with the price and quality of provisions; and she is a ready accountant. Her chief view, however, is to serve her mother and lighten her cares. She holds cleanliness and neetness to be indispensable in a woman; and that a slattern is disgusting, especially if beautiful."
- "A dunce he always was, it is true; for learning cannot be acquired by leaving school and entering at college as a fellow-commoner; but he was now (in his own peculiar manner) as great a dandy as he before had been a slattern, and when he entered his sitting-room to join his two guests, arrived scented and arrayed in fine linen, and perfectly splendid in appearance."
- "[…] How many times I have heard a woman called a slattern, because she could not keep a house in order, when had she been allowed to write out her sublime thoughts, which were all in another direction, she would have astonished the world with her genius."
- "AMANDA: I’ve been brought up to believe that it’s beyond the pale, for a man to strike a woman. ELYOT: A very poor tradition. Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs. AMANDA: You’re an unmitigated cad, and a bully. ELYOT: And you’re an ill-mannered, bad tempered slattern. AMANDA (loudly): Slattern indeed. ELYOT: Yes, slattern, slattern, slattern, and fishwife. VICTOR: Keep your mouth shut, you swine."
Etymology
Dating from the 17th century; related to slattering (“slovenly”), from the dialectal verb slatter (“to slop, to spill”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈslætɚn/
- British English: /ˈslætən/