sly

English

/slaɪ/

adj
Definitions
  • Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily.
  • (having a positive sense) Dexterous in performing an action, so as to escape notice
  • Done with, and marked by, artful and dexterous secrecy; subtle
  • Light or delicate; slight; thin.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English sly derived from Old Norse slægr derived from Proto-Germanic *slōgiz (sly, able to strike, cunning, agile, striking, clever, lively) derived from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (throw, hit, strike).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*slak-

Gloss

throw, hit, strike

Concept
Semantic Field

Motion

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms