slaughter

slaughter · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*slak-“to hit, strike, throw”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*slahaną
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*slahtrą
4. Old Norse · derived from*slahtr
5. Middle English · inherited fromslaughter
6. English todayslaughter

From Middle English slaughter, from Old Norse *slahtr, later sláttr, from Proto-Germanic *slahtrą, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną. Equivalent to slay + -ter (as in laughter). Eventually derived from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”). Related with Dutch slachten, German schlachten, Finnish lahdata (all “to slaughter”).

Slaughter · proper noun²

Originally named for someone who slaughtered animals for food.

Slaughter · proper noun³

See Slaughters.

Words from the same roots