Etymograph

English

slag

Slag comes from Middle Low German slagge, from Proto-Germanic *slagōną ‘to strike’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *slak-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*slak-‘to hit, strike, throw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slahaną‘to hit, strike’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slagiz‘blow, strike’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slagōną‘to strike’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slaggôreconstructed
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slaggōreconstructed
  7. Old Saxonc. 800–1200*slaggoreconstructed
  8. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600slagge
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1987slag

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*slak-‘to hit, strike, throw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slahaną‘to hit, strike’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slagiz‘blow, strike’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slagōną‘to strike’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slaggôreconstructed
  6. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slaggōreconstructed
  7. Old Saxonc. 800–1200*slaggoreconstructed
  8. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600slagge
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1987slag

Earliest quotation: 1987, Paint a Vulgar Picture: “The sycophantic slags all say / "I knew him…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *slak- ‘to hit, strike, throw’

sly, sledge, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *slahaną ‘to hit, strike’

slaughter, slew, slay, sleight, slyly, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *slagiz ‘blow, strike’

slug, 1 more

Today it means

noun Waste material from a mine.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *slak- / slag

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