slash

slash · noun, verb, adverb, conjunction¹

1. Frankish · derived from*slaitan“to slit, tear”
2. Old French · derived fromesclachier“to break in pieces”
3. English todayslash

Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”). Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.

slash · noun, verb²

Uncertain. Compare Scots slash (“large splash”), possibly from Old French esclache. Slang use for urination attested from the 1950s.

slash · noun, verb³

Uncertain. Compare British dialectal slashy (“wet and dirty, miry”) and Scots slash (“act of walking forcefully through water or mud”) and slatch (“wet and muddy place, mire”). Perhaps related to Swedish slask (“slush”). Compare also slash (“clearing in a forest”): in many cases it is difficult to tell whether that sense or this one is meant. (Also compare flash (“a marsh; a pool of water”).)

slash · noun⁴

See slatch