Where does “sly” come from?
Sly comes from Middle English sly, from Old Norse slœgr meaning clever or cunning, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European slak-.
sly (English): Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily;...
Definitions
- Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily;...
Ancestry of “sly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sly | Judicious, considered, shrewd; having or... |
| 2 | Old Norse | slǿgr | crafty, cunning, sly |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | slōgiz | able to strike; sly, cunning, clever |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | slak- | to hit; strike; to hit, strike, throw; to hit,... |