Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “slak” come from?

slak (Middle English) comes from Old English slæc, from Proto-Germanic slakaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)leh₁g- — weak, feeble; weak, faint.

Ancestry of “slak”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishslæclazy
2Proto-Germanicslakazslack, lax
3Proto-Indo-European(s)leh₁g-weak, feeble; weak, faint

Words derived from “slak”

  • slack
  • slackness
  • slacker
  • slackly
  • slackerdom
  • slackwire
  • slackline
  • nonslack
  • slackerly
  • slacklining
  • slack-handed
  • slackliner
  • slack-handedness
  • cyberslacker
  • forslack
  • slackerish
  • slackline
  • llac
  • llacio
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)leh₁g- →