Meanings
plural slits
- A narrow cut or opening; a slot.
The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue.[…].
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC - vulgarThe vulva.First known use 1640s
[…]I twiſted my thighs, ſqueezed, and compreſs’d the lips of that virgin-ſlit[…]
Fanny Hill
1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, pages 67–68 - vulgarA woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute.
present singular third person slits · participle present slitting · obsolete participle past slitten
- To cut a narrow opening.
He slit the bag open and the rice began pouring out.
- To split into strips by lengthwise cuts.
- transitiveTo cut; to sever; to divide.
And slits the thin-spun life.
1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC
- not comparableHaving a cut narrow opening.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounobscene terms for female genitals
nouna depression scratched or carved into a surface
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)leyd-“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”
- Proto-Germanic*slītaną“to tear apart”
- Old Englishslītan
- Middle Englishslitten
- Englishslit
From Middle English slitten, from Old English slītan, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyd- (“to tear, rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate with Latin laed- (“to strike, hurt, injure”). Doublet of slite; also related to slice through French borrowing. Apparently unrelated to English slot, whose etymology, however, is uncertain.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic قَطَعَ, شَطَبَ
- قَطَعَ (qaṭaʕa)cut a narrow opening
- شَطَبَ (šaṭaba)cut a narrow opening
- شَرَطَ (šaraṭa)cut a narrow opening
Bulgarian шлиц, цепка
- шлиц (šlic)narrow cut or opening; a slot
- цепка (cepka)narrow cut or opening; a slot
- цепя (cepja)cut a narrow opening
- разцепвам (razcepvam)cut a narrow opening
- разрязвам (razrjazvam)split into strips
Chinese Mandarin 狭缝
- 狭缝 (xiáfèng)narrow cut or opening; a slot
Czech škvíra, skulina
- škvíranarrow cut or opening; a slot
- skulinanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- štěrbinanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- rozříznoutcut a narrow opening
- proříznoutcut a narrow opening
Dutch spleet, gleuf
- spleetnarrow cut or opening; a slot
- gleufnarrow cut or opening; a slot
- spleetvulgar, slang: vulva
- sletvulgar, slang: a derogatory name for a woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute
- opensnijdencut a narrow opening
- splijtensplit into strips
- opensnijdensplit into strips
Esperanto fendo, fendo
- fendonarrow cut or opening; a slot
- fendovulgar, slang: vulva
Estonian pilu, pilu
- pilunarrow cut or opening; a slot
- piluvulgar, slang: vulva
Finnish viilto, viiva
- viiltonarrow cut or opening; a slot
- viivavulgar, slang: vulva
- viiltääcut a narrow opening
- leikata suikaleiksisplit into strips
French fente, vulve
- fentenarrow cut or opening; a slot
- vulvevulgar, slang: vulva
- fentevulgar, slang: vulva
German Nut, Schlitz
- Nutnarrow cut or opening; a slot
- Schlitznarrow cut or opening; a slot
- Spaltnarrow cut or opening; a slot
- Schlitzvulgar, slang: vulva
- Schamritzevulgar, slang: vulva
- Ritzevulgar, slang: vulva
- Schamspaltevulgar, slang: vulva
- Spaltevulgar, slang: vulva
- schlitzencut a narrow opening
- aufschlitzencut a narrow opening
- zerschlitzencut a narrow opening
- trennensplit into strips
- auftrennensplit into strips
- teilensplit into strips
- zerteilensplit into strips
Hebrew חתך, פיצל
- חתך (khatákh)split into strips
- פיצל (pitsél)split into strips
Hungarian vágás
- vágásnarrow cut or opening; a slot
Indonesian mengiris
- mengirissplit into strips
Italian fessura, fendere
- fessuranarrow cut or opening; a slot
- fenderecut a narrow opening
Japanese 切る
- 切る (kiru)split into strips
Māori hahae, haenga
- hahaenarrow cut or opening; a slot
- haenganarrow cut or opening; a slot
- hāparacut a narrow opening
- hōripicut a narrow opening
- hōripiripicut a narrow opening
- haecut a narrow opening
- horicut a narrow opening
Portuguese greta, ranhura
- gretanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- ranhuranarrow cut or opening; a slot
- rachavulgar, slang: vulva
- fendersplit into strips
- racharsplit into strips
Russian щель, разре́з
- щель (ščelʹ)narrow cut or opening; a slot
- разре́з (razréz)narrow cut or opening; a slot
- щёлка (ščólka)vulgar, slang: vulva
- мокрощёлка (mokroščólka)vulgar, slang: a derogatory name for a woman, usually a sexually loose woman; a prostitute
Spanish ranura, tajo
- ranuranarrow cut or opening; a slot
- tajonarrow cut or opening; a slot
- rendijanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- rehendijanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- redendijanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- hendijanarrow cut or opening; a slot
- rajavulgar, slang: vulva
- rayitavulgar, slang: vulva
- degollarcut a narrow opening
- despescuezarcut a narrow opening
- espescuezarcut a narrow opening
Turkish kesmek
- kesmekcut a narrow opening
Ukrainian щі́лина, шпари́на
- щі́лина (ščílyna)narrow cut or opening; a slot
- шпари́на (šparýna)narrow cut or opening; a slot
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with slit
Anagrams
Cite this entry
slit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slit
“slit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slit. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slit,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slit.
Source: slit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.