Part 459

Slash, v. i. To strike violently and at random, esp. with an edged instrument; to lay about one indiscriminately with blows; to cut hastily and carelessly.

Hewing and slashing at their idle shades.

Spenser.

Slash, n. 1. A long cut; a cut made at random.

2. A large slit in the material of any garment, made to show the lining through the openings.

3. [Cf. Slashy.] pl. Swampy or wet lands overgrown with bushes. [Local, U.S.] Bartlett.

Slashed (?), a. 1. Marked or cut with a slash or slashes; deeply gashed; especially, having long, narrow openings, as a sleeve or other part of a garment, to show rich lining or under vesture.

A gray jerkin, with scarlet and slashed sleeves.

Sir W. Scott.

2. (Bot.) Divided into many narrow parts or segments by sharp incisions; laciniate.

Slash"er (?), n. (Textile Manuf.) A machine for applying size to warp yarns.

Slash" pine" (?). (Bot.) A kind of pine tree (Pinus Cubensis) found in Southern Florida and the West Indies; -- so called because it grows in "slashes."

Slash"y (?), a. [Cf. Sw. slaska to dabble in water. Cf. Slush.] Wet and dirty; slushy. [Prov. Eng.]

Slat (?), n. [CF. Slot a bar.] A thin, narrow strip or bar of wood or metal; as, the slats of a window blind.

Slat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slatted; p. pr. & vb. n. Slatting.] [OE. slatten; cf. Icel. sletta to slap, to dab.] 1. To slap; to strike; to beat; to throw down violently. [Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U.S.]

How did you kill him? Slated his brains out.

Marston.

2. To split; to crack. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

3. To set on; to incite. See 3d Slate. [Prov. Eng.]

Slatch (?), n. [See Slack.] (Naut.) (a) The period of a transitory breeze. (b) An interval of fair weather. (c) The loose or slack part of a rope; slack.

Slate (?), n. [OE. slat, OF. esclat a shiver, splinter, F. éclat, fr. OF. esclater to shiver, to chip, F. éclater, fr. OHG. sliezen to tear, slit, split, fr. slzan to slit, G. schleissen. See Slit, v. t., and cf. Eclat.] 1. (Min.) An argillaceous rock which readily splits into thin plates; argillite; argillaceous schist.

2. Any rock or stone having a slaty structure.

3. A prepared piece of such stone. Especially: (a) A thin, flat piece, for roofing or covering houses, etc. (b) A tablet for writing upon.

4. An artificial material, resembling slate, and used for the above purposes.

5. A thin plate of any material; a flake. [Obs.]

6. (Politics) A list of candidates, prepared for nomination or for election; a list of candidates, or a programme of action, devised beforehand. [Cant, U.S.] Bartlett.

Adhesive slate (Min.), a kind of slate of a greenish gray color, which absorbs water rapidly, and adheres to the tongue; whence the name. -- Aluminous slate, or Alum slate (Min.), a kind of slate containing sulphate of alumina, -- used in the manufacture of alum. -- Bituminous slate (Min.), a soft species of sectile clay slate, impregnated with bitumen. -- Hornblende slate (Min.), a slaty rock, consisting essentially of hornblende and feldspar, useful for flagging on account of its toughness. -- Slate ax or axe, a mattock with an ax end, used in shaping slates for roofs, and making holes in them for the nails. -- Slate clay (Geol.), an indurated clay, forming one of the alternating beds of the coal measures, consisting of an infusible compound of alumina and silica, and often used for making fire bricks. Tomlinson. -- Slate globe, a globe the surface of which is made of an artificial slatelike material. -- Slate pencil, a pencil of slate, or of soapstone, used for writing on a slate. -- Slate rocks (Min.), rocks which split into thin laminæ, not necessarily parallel to the stratification; foliated rocks. -- Slate spar (Min.), a variety of calcite of silvery white luster and of a slaty structure. -- Transparent slate, a plate of translucent material, as ground glass, upon which a copy of a picture, placed beneath it, can be made by tracing.

Slate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slated; p. pr. & vb. n. Slating.] 1. To cover with slate, or with a substance resembling slate; as, to slate a roof; to slate a globe.