Wiktionary

sly

See also: Sly, slý, and šly

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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sly (comparative slier or slyer, superlative sliest or slyest)

  1. Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
  2. (having a positive connotation) Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
    Synonyms: nimble, skillful, cautious, shrewd
  3. Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle
    a sly trick
  4. Light or delicate; slight; thin.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

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Adverb

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sly

  1. Slyly.

Anagrams

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Lower Sorbian

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Adjective

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sly

  1. Obsolete spelling of zły (“bad, evil”).

Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Old Norse slǿgr, from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /sliː(x)/, /sleː(x)/, /slix/

Adjective

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sly (plural and weak singular slye, comparative slyer, superlative sliest)

  1. Judicious, considered, shrewd; having or indicative of great wisdom.
    • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎[1], published c. 1410, Matheu 10:35, page 4v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
      lo I ſende ȝou as ſcheep in þe myddil of wolues / þerfoꝛ be ȝe ſliȝ as ſerpentis .· and ſymple as dowues
      So I'm sending you out like sheep in amongst wolves, so be shrewd like snakes and harmless like doves.
  2. Adept, expert, quality; having or indicative of great expertise.
  3. Sly, artful, wily; employing or being an example of deception.
  4. (rare) Attractive; having good looks.
  5. (rare) Unknown or hidden.
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Descendants

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  • English: sly
  • Scots: slee

References

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Swedish

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sly

Etymology

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Unknown origin. From a dialectal word meaning "wetland with small forest". First attested in 1752.[1]

Noun

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sly n

  1. An (instance or collection of) young broad-leaved trees or saplings (in particular while growing densely, sometimes in a weed-like fashion). (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)
    • 1982, Folke Isaksson, Gnistor under himlavalvet, page 261:
      De älskande famnar varandra i ett uterum där betingelserna för njutning och lycka är gynnsamma: i ett hävdat lövträdslandskap (inte i granars skugga eller bland vildvuxen sly), i solljuset (dämpat av bladverkens rörliga ridåer) och i en tempererad zon om sommaren (utan giftormar eller blodsugande insekter).
      The lovers embrace each other outdoors where the conditions for pleasure and happiness are favorable: in a well-maintained deciduous landscape (not in the shadow of spruces or among overgrown thickets), in the sunlight (softened by the moving curtains of foliage), and in a temperate zone during summer (without poisonous snakes or blood-sucking insects).
    • 2005, Folke Isaksson, “Övergivet torpställe [Abandoned cottage]”, in Osäkra glimtar av ett oförklarligt ljus, page 13:
      Några bleka krolliljor spirar bland bråten. För övrigt sönderfall och övergivenhet med inträngande, maktberusad sly och grundvalens grovhuggna stenar på väg att förvandlas till mögel.
      Some pale curly lilies sprout among the debris. Otherwise, decay and abandonment with intrusive, power-intoxicated underbrush and the coarse-hewn stones of the foundation on the verge of turning into mold.
    • 2023 August 31, Kary Persson, “Vallarna till Citadellet rensas på sly [The ramparts of the Citadel are being cleared of underbrush]”, in Landskrona Direkt:
      De som promenerat längst med vallgravarna i Landskrona de senaste dagarna har bevittnat hur slyet som, på sina ställer växt obehindrat i flera år, tas ner.
      Those who have walked along the moats in Landskrona in recent days have witnessed the clearance of the underbrush that, in some places, has grown unchecked for several years.

Usage notes

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  • Should not be confused with:
    • ris (“brushwood”) which can be severed sly in a bundle.
    • snår (“thicket; underbrush”) which are formed by a collection of sly and other vegetation.
  • While there is no defined size, sly tends to be about 1–3 meters tall and about as thick as a human finger.

Declension

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Declension of sly
nominative genitive
singular indefinite sly slys
definite slyet slyets
plural indefinite — —
definite — —

Holonyms

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  • ris (“shrubs; brushwood”)
  • snår (“thicket; underbrush”)

Derived terms

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References

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Anagrams

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  1. ^ sly in Svensk ordbok (SO)
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