Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “slice” come from?

slice (Middle English) comes from Old French esclis, from Old French esclicier, from Old French esclicer, from Frankish slitjan, from Proto-Germanic slitjaną, from Proto-Germanic slītaną, from Proto-Indo-European sleyd-.

Ancestry of “slice”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchesclisa piece split off
2Old FrenchesclicierAlternative form of esclicer; to splinter, split...
3Old Frenchesclicerto shatter, split, cleave
4Frankishslitjanto split up
5Proto-Germanicslitjaną—
6Proto-Germanicslītanąto tear apart
7Proto-Indo-Europeansleyd-—

Words derived from “slice”

  • slice
  • slicer
  • multislice
  • interslice
  • sliceable
  • subslice
  • reslice
  • hyperslice
  • microslicer
  • preslice
  • sliceth
  • home slice
  • superslice
  • minislice
  • vibroslice
  • slicer
  • slice
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sleyd- →