English
slither
Slither comes from Middle English slideren ‘to slither, creep’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- ‘to slip’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃sleydʰ-‘to slip’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slidrōn‘to slide, slither’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150slidrian‘to slip, slide, slither’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slideren‘to slither, creep’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500slitherenalteration of slideren
- Englishearliest quotation 1926slither
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃sleydʰ-‘to slip’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slidrōn‘to slide, slither’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150slidrian‘to slip, slide, slither’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slideren‘to slither, creep’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500slitherenalteration of slideren
- Englishearliest quotation 1926slither
Earliest quotation: 1926, Eric Walrond, Tropic Death: “And from the hedge came the silken slither of…”
Formed from slide + -er
Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- ‘to slip, slide’
…
Proto-Germanic *slīdaną ‘to slide, to slip’
Proto-West Germanic *slīdan ‘to slide, to slip’
Old English slīdan ‘to slide’
Middle English sliden ‘to slide then fall’
English slide
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- ‘to slip’
Today it means
verb To move about smoothly and from side to side.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- / slither