Middle English Dictionary Entry
sleck n.
Entry Info
| Forms | sleck n. Also (early SWM) slec, slech. |
| Etymology | ?OE (Merc.) *slec, var. of *slæc n.; cp. MnE dial. sleck ooze, sleech silt, slime & Swed. dial. slega a marshy hollow. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
Note: Cp. slak n.(2), sliche n., slugge n.(2).
1.
Mud, slush; also [last quot.], ?stony soil; ?soil containing coal.
Associated quotations
- c1225(?c1200) St.Kath.(1) (Roy 17.A.27)87/770 : Al þet ter in is glistinde..as eni gles smeðest bute sloh & slec [Bod: slech] eauer iliche sumerlich.
- (?1440) Palladius (DukeH d.2)2.152 : Vndonged sleck [L Carbunculus nisi stercoretur] wole make hem [vines] lene; In reed erthe ek a vyne is hard to take.