Schluenze

Alemannic German

Etymology

From schluenze (“to work untidily; to go carelessly”), which probably originally meant “to hang loosely, dangle”. Probably related to Low German slendern (“to glide”) (borrowed into German as schlendern (“to walk around aimlessly”)), German schlingen (“to gobble down without chewing”) (with a Central German -nd- → -ng- shift; from Middle High German slinden, from Old High German slintan, perhaps originally meaning “to let slide (down one's throat)”, of unclear origin (see also substantive form Schlund (“throat”))). Cognate with German Schlunze.

Noun

Schluenze f (Uri)

1. An untidy woman.
2. (derogatory, by extension) slut, whore

References

• Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 54.