slight

slight · adjective, verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*slihtaz“slippery, flat, level, plain”
2. Old English · inherited fromsliht“smooth, level”
3. Middle English · inherited fromslight“bad, of poor quality, unimportant, trivial, slender, slim, smooth, level”
4. English todayslight

From Middle English slight (“bad, of poor quality, unimportant, trivial, slender, slim, smooth, level”), from Old English sliht (“smooth, level”), from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz (“slippery, flat, level, plain”), related to English slick. Cognate with Scots slicht (“bad, of poor quality”), West Frisian sljocht (“smooth, level, plain, simple”), Dutch slecht (“bad”), Low German slecht (“bad”), German schlecht (“bad”) and schlicht (“plain, artless, natural”), Danish slet (“bad, evil, poor, nasty, wrong”), Swedish slät (“smooth”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk slett (“even”), Icelandic sléttur (“even, smooth, level”).

Slight · proper noun²

1. Middle English · derived fromslight“smooth; slim, slender, skinny”
2. English todaySlight

Scottish surname from Middle English slight (“smooth; slim, slender, skinny”), a nickname for a slim or skinny person.

Words from the same roots