sling

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English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English slynge (noun), slyngen (verb), probably from Old Norse slyngja, slyngva (“to hurl”), from Proto-Germanic *slingwaną (“to worm, twist”) or compare Old English slingan (“to wind, twist”), from the same source.

Compare German schlingen (“to swing, wind, twist”), Danish and Norwegian slynge), from Proto-Indo-European *slenk- (“to turn, twist”) (compare Welsh llyngyr (“worms, maggots”), Lithuanian sliñkti (“to crawl like a snake”), Latvian slìkt (“to sink”)).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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sling (third-person singular simple present slings, present participle slinging, simple past and past participle slung or slang)

  1. To throw with a circular or arcing motion.
    • 2000, Bible (World English), Judges xx. 16
      Everyone could sling stones at an hairbreadth, and not miss.
    • a. 1720, Joseph Addison, “Milton’s Style Imitated, in a Translation of a Story out of the Third Æneid”, in The Dramatick Works of Joseph Addison. With the Authour’s Poems, on Several Occasions:
      slings a broken rock aloft in air
  2. To throw with a sling.
  3. (nautical) To pass a rope around (a cask, gun, etc.) preparatory to attaching a hoisting or lowering tackle.
  4. (slang) To sell, peddle, or distribute (often illicitly, e.g. drugs, sex, etc.).
    Synonyms: slang, flog, flip
    • 2008, Breaking Bad, Season 1, Episode 6:
      You may know a lot about chemistry, man, but you don't know jack about slinging dope.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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A diagram of how to put on a sling (sense 2)

sling (plural slings)

  1. (weaponry) An instrument for throwing stones or other missiles, consisting of a short strap with two strings fastened to its ends, or with a string fastened to one end and a light stick to the other.
    • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 43:
      The Sling is also a weapon of great antiquity, formerly in high estimation among the ancients.
  2. A kind of hanging bandage put around the neck, in which a wounded arm or hand is supported.
  3. A loop of cloth, worn around the neck, for supporting a baby or other such load.
  4. A loop of rope, or a rope or chain with hooks, for suspending a barrel, bale, or other heavy object, in hoisting or lowering.
  5. A strap attached to a firearm, for suspending it from the shoulder.
  6. (nautical, chiefly in the plural) A band of rope or iron for securing a yard to a mast.
  7. The act or motion of hurling as with a sling; a throw; figuratively, a stroke.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      At one sling
      Of thy victorious arm, well-pleasing Son.
    • 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act III, scene I, line 55:
      To be, or not to be, that is the question:
      Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
      The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
      Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
      And by opposing, end them.
  8. (climbing) A loop of rope or fabric tape used for various purposes: e.g. as part of a runner, or providing extra protection when abseiling or belaying.
  9. A drink composed of a spirit (usually gin) and water sweetened.
    gin sling
    a Singapore sling
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

Descendants

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  • → Spanish: eslinga

Etymology 2

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From a shortening of spiderling.

Noun

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sling (plural slings)

  1. A young or infant spider, such as one raised in captivity.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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sling

  1. Alternative form of slynge
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