English
slay
Slay comes from Middle English sleen ‘to cut’, from Old English slēan ‘to hit, punch, strike’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *slak-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*slak-‘to hit, strike, throw’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slahaną‘to hit, strike’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slahan‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150slēan‘to hit, punch, strike’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sleen‘to cut’
- Englishearliest quotation 1577slay
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*slak-‘to hit, strike, throw’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slahaną‘to hit, strike’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slahan‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150slēan‘to hit, punch, strike’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sleen‘to cut’
- Englishearliest quotation 1577slay
Earliest quotation: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Historie of Englande: “In the meane time it chaunced, that Marcus Papyrius…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *slak- ‘to hit, strike, throw’
through Proto-Germanic *slahaną ‘to hit, strike’
slaughter, slug, sleight, slag, slyly, 4 more
through Middle English sleen ‘to cut’
Today it means
verb To kill; to murder.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *slak- / slay