slit

See also: slít, and șliț

English

Etymology

From Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”). Doublet of slite; also related to slice through French borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈslɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Noun

slit (plural slits)

1. A narrow cut or opening; a slot.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].

2. (vulgar, slang) The vulva.
3. (vulgar, slang, derogatory) A woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute.

Derived terms

• arrow slit
• dorsal slit
• double-slit experiment
• gill slit
• piss-slit
• piss slit
• slit drum
• slit-eyed
• slit gong
• slit-gong
• slit lamp
• slitless
• slitlike
• slit one's throat
• slit-scan
• slit-shell
• slit someone's throat
• slitted
• slit trench

 

Translations

narrow cut or opening; a slot

• Bulgarian: шлиц (bg) m (šlic), цепка (bg) f (cepka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 狭缝 (xiáfèng)

• Czech: škvíra (cs) f, skulina f, štěrbina (cs) f
• Dutch: spleet (nl) f, gleuf (nl) f
• Esperanto: fendo
• Estonian: pilu
• Finnish: viilto (fi)
• French: fente (fr)
• Galician: fenda (gl) f, regaña f
• German: Nut (de) f, Schlitz (de) m, Spalt (de) m
• Italian: fessura (it) f
• Macedonian: про́цеп m (prócep), це́пка f (cépka)
• Maori: hahae, haenga
• Occitan: fenda (oc) f, dobertura (oc) f, fendascla f
• Plautdietsch: Schlerz f
• Portuguese: greta (pt), ranhura (pt)
• Russian: щель (ru) (ščelʹ), разрез (ru) (razrez)
• Spanish: ranura (es) f, tajo (es) m, rendija (es) f, fisura (es)
• Ukrainian: щі́лина f (ščílyna), шпари́на f (šparýna)

vulgar, slang: vulva

• Dutch: spleet (nl) f
• Esperanto: fendo
• Estonian: pilu
• Finnish: viiva (fi)
• French: vulve (fr), fente (fr) f
• Galician: fenda (gl) f
• German: Schlitz (de) m, Schamritze f, Ritze (de) f, Schamspalte f, Spalte (de) f
• Portuguese: racha (pt)
• Russian: щёлка (ru) (ščólka)
• Spanish: raja (es), rayita f
• Volapük: kunudaslitod f

vulgar, slang: a derogatory name for a woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute

• Dutch: slet (nl) f
• Russian: мокрощёлка (ru) (mokroščólka)

Verb

slit (third-person singular simple present slits, present participle slitting, simple past slit, past participle slit or (obsolete) slitten)

1. To cut a narrow opening.

   He slit the bag open and the rice began pouring out.

2. To split into strips by lengthwise cuts.
3. (transitive) To cut; to sever; to divide.
   • 1637, John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:

     And slits the thin-spun life.

Translations

cut a narrow opening

• Arabic: قَطَعَ (ar) (qaṭaʕa), شَطَبَ (ar) (šaṭaba), شَرَطَ (šaraṭa)
• Bulgarian: цепя (bg) (cepja), разцепвам (bg) (razcepvam)
• Czech: rozříznout pf, proříznout pf
• Dutch: opensnijden (nl)
• Finnish: viiltää (fi)
• German: schlitzen (de), aufschlitzen (de), zerschlitzen (de)
• Italian: fendere (it)
• Maori: hāpara, hōripi, hōripiripi, hae, hori
• Turkish: kesmek (tr)

split into strips

• Bulgarian: разрязвам (bg) (razrjazvam)
• Dutch: splijten (nl), opensnijden (nl)
• Finnish: leikata kahtia (fi)
• Galician: esgallar (gl), fender (gl), rachar
• German: trennen (de), auftrennen (de), teilen (de), zerteilen (de)
• Hebrew: חתך (he) (khatákh), פיצל (pitsél)
• Indonesian: mengiris (id)
• Japanese: 切る (ja) (きる, kiru)
• Portuguese: fender (pt), rachar (pt)

Adjective

slit (not comparable)

1. Having a cut narrow opening

Anagrams

• &lits, List, list, lits, silt, tils

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈslɪt]

Participle

slit

1. masculine singular passive participle of slít

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse *slit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stlɪːt/
• Rhymes: -ɪːt

Noun

slit n (genitive singular slits, no plural)

1. wear and tear

See also

• slitna

Anagrams

• list

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

slit

1. imperative of slite

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

slit

1. inflection of slita:
   1. present
   2. imperative

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sliːt/

Verb

slīt

1. third-person singular present indicative of slīdan

Swedish

Etymology

Deverbal from slita (“to toil”).

Noun

slit n

1. toil, labour (grueling work)

Declension

Declension of slit

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	slit	slits
	definite	slitet	slitets
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Derived terms

• slit och släp

Related terms

• slita
• slitig
• slitsam

Verb

slit

1. imperative of slita

Anagrams

• list, lits, silt, stil