slue

English

Alternative forms

• (mostly British) slew

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sluː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uː
• Homophones: slew, slough

Etymology 1

Unknown. Attested from the late 18th century.

Verb

slue (third-person singular simple present slues, present participle sluing or slueing, simple past and past participle slued)

1. (transitive, nautical) To rotate something on an axis.
   • 1841, B.J. Totten, Naval Text-Book‎^[1], page 10:

     raise the boom […] then slue it by a slue-rope on its heel, until the square hole in the cap is fair with the tenon

2. (transitive) To turn something sharply.
   • 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations‎^[2]:

     […] then he incidentally spat and said something to the other convict, and they laughed, and slued themselves round with a clink of their coupling manacle,

3. (intransitive) To rotate on an axis; to pivot.
4. (intransitive) To slide off course; to skid.

Translations

to rotate something on an axis

• Bulgarian: въртя (bg) (vǎrtja)

to turn something sharply

• Bulgarian: извъртам (bg) (izvǎrtam)

to pivot

• Bulgarian: въртя се около ос (vǎrtja se okolo os)

to skid

Noun

slue (plural slues)

1. The act of sluing or the place to which something has slued.

Translations

act of sluing

• Bulgarian: въртене около ос (vǎrtene okolo os)

Derived terms

• slue-foot
• slue-footed

Etymology 2

Variant of slough (which is dialectally pronounced /slu/); compare slew (“wet or swampy place”).

Noun

slue (plural slues)

1. A slough; a run or wet place.

Etymology 3

Verb

slue

1. obsolete spelling of slew; simple past of slay
   • 1590, Edward Daunce, A Briefe Discovrse of the Spanish State vvith a Dialogue Annexed Intituled Philobasilis, London:  […] Richard Field, page 22:

     Hee moreouer ſpecially noteth for the reſt, one Piero Calis, who (in driuing whole droues of that naked people) ſlue all that were not able to trauell, without regard of age, ſexe, or their vſe of labour , which in reſpect of a continuall eaſe;was moſt hard and intollerable to them.

References

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Slue”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “slew”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• LEUs, Lues, Luse, lues