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Added 9 October 2026

slit

/ˈslɪt/ noun

Latin root: laed Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about slit at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A long narrow opening.
Obscene terms for female genitals.
A depression scratched or carved into a surface.

verb

Make a clean cut through.
slit her throat
Cut a slit into.
slit the throat of the victim

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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