Advertisement

Origin and history of slime

slime(n.)

"Any soft, ropy, glutinous, or viscous substance" [Century Dictionary], Old English slim "soft mud," from Proto-Germanic *slimaz (source also of Old Norse slim, Old Frisian slym, Dutch slijm "slime, phlegm," German Schleim "slime"), which is probably related to Old English lim "birdlime; sticky substance."

This is from a PIE root *(s)lei- "slimy, sticky, slippery" (source also of Sanskrit linati "sticks, stays, adheres to; slips into, disappears;" Russian slimak "snail;" Old Church Slavonic slina "spittle;" Old Irish sligim "to smear," leinam "I follow," literally "I stick to;" Welsh llyfn "smooth;" Greek leimax "snail," limne "marsh, pool, lake," alinein "to anoint, besmear;" Latin limus "slime, mud, mire," linere "to daub, besmear, rub out, erase").

As an insult to a person from mid-15c. Figuratively, of anything clinging and offensive, 1570s. Slime-mold, common name for a type of fungi, is from 1880.

slime(v.)

1620s, "to cover with or as with slime," from slime (n.). Intransitive sense of "become slimy" is by 1842. Related: Slimed; sliming.

also from 1620s

Entries linking to slime

delete(v.)

"destroy, eradicate," 1530s, from Latin deletus, past participle of delere "destroy, blot out, efface," from delevi, originally perfective tense of delinere "to daub, erase by smudging" (as of the wax on a writing table), from de "from, away" (see de-) + linere "to smear, wipe," from PIE root *(s)lei- "slime, slimy, sticky" (see slime (n.)). In English, specifically in reference to written matter from c. 1600. Related: Deleted; deleting.

limaceous(adj.)

"pertaining to slugs," 1650s, with -ous + Latin limax (genitive limacis) "snail, slug," from Greek leimax, from PIE root *(s)lei- "slime" (see slime (n.)). The Greek word is cognate with Russian slimák "snail," Lithuanian sliekas "earthworm," and the first element in Old English slaw-wyrm "slow-worm."

Advertisement

More to explore

lime
"chalky, sticky mineral used in making mortar," from Old English lim "sticky substance, birdlime;" also "mortar, cement, gluten," from Proto-Germanic *leimaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Danish lim, Dutch lijm, German Leim "birdlime"), from PIE root *(s)lei- "slime, slim
loam
Old English lam "clay, mud, clayey or muddy earth," from Proto-Germanic *laimaz (source also of Old Saxon lemo, Dutch leem, German Lehm "loam"), from PIE root *(s)lei- "slimy" (source also of Latin limus "mud;" see slime (n.)). In early use also the stuff from which God made man
oblivion
late 14c., oblivioun, "state or fact of forgetting, forgetfulness, loss of memory," from Old French oblivion (13c.) and directly from Latin oblivionem (nominative oblivio) "forgetfulness; a being forgotten," from oblivisci (past participle oblitus) "forget," which is of uncertain
blenny
type of small fish, 1774, from Latin blennius (in Pliny), from Greek blennos, from blenna "slime, snot, mucous discharge,...Blennies (B. gattorugine and allied species) are little fishes common in the rock pools, often called Butterfishes from the slime...
clay
Some sources see these as being from a common PIE root meaning "slime; glue" also forming words for "clay" and verbs for...beeswax;" Greek gloios "sticky matter;" Lithuanian glitus "sticky," glitas "mucus;" Old Church Slavonic glina "clay," glenu "slime...
mucus
viscid fluid secreted by the mucous membranes of animals," 1660s (replacing Middle English mucilage), from Latin mucus "slime...
moist
Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *muscidus "moldy," also "wet," from Latin mucidus "slimy, moldy, musty," from mucus "slime" (see...
ooze
"to flow as ooze, percolate through the pores of a substance" (intrans.), also "emit in the shape of moisture" (trans.), late 14c., wosen, verbal derivative of Old English noun wos "juice, sap," from Proto-Germanic *wosan (source of Middle Low German wose "scum"), from same sourc
silo
1835, "a pit in the ground or a cavity in rock for storage of green crops," often in reference to other countries, and the word in English is explained at first, from Spanish silo, traditionally derived from Latin sirum (nominative sirus), from Greek siros "a pit to keep corn in.
soil
early 13c., "to defile or pollute with sin," from Old French soillier "to splatter with mud, to foul or make dirty," originally "to wallow" (12c., Modern French souillier), from souil "tub, wild boar's wallow, pigsty," which is from Latin solium "tub for bathing; seat" (from PIE

Share slime

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near slime
Advertisement