FromOld Englishslītan, fromProto-Germanic*slītaną(“to tear apart”), fromProto-Indo-European*(s)leyd-(“to tear,rend (cut apart), split apart”). Possibly cognate withLatinlaed-(“to strike, hurt, injure”).Doublet ofslite; also related toslice through French borrowing.

• IPA^(key):/ˈslɪt/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɪt

slit (pluralslits)

1. Anarrowcut oropening; aslot.
   • 1963,Margery Allingham, chapter 17, inThe China Governess: A Mystery, London:Chatto & Windus,→OCLC:

     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 narrowslits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].

2. (vulgar,slang) Thevulva.
3. (vulgar,slang,derogatory) A woman, usually a sexually loose woman; aprostitute.

slit (third-person singular simple presentslits,present participleslitting,simple pastslit,past participleslitor(obsolete)slitten)

1. Tocut a narrow opening.

   Heslit the bag open and the rice began pouring out.

2. Tosplit intostrips bylengthwisecuts.
3. (transitive) To cut; to sever; to divide.
   • 1637,John Milton, “Lycidas”, inPoems of Mr. John Milton, […], London:[…] Ruth Raworth forHumphrey Mosely, […], published1646,→OCLC:

     Andslits the thin-spun life.

slit (notcomparable)

1. Having a cut narrow opening

• &lits,List,list,lits,silt,tils

• IPA^(key):[ˈslɪt]

slit

1. masculinesingularpassiveparticiple ofslít

FromOld Norse*slit.

• IPA^(key):/stlɪːt/
• Rhymes:-ɪːt

slit n (genitive singularslits,no plural)

1. wear and tear

• slitna

• list

slit

1. imperative ofslite

slit

1. inflection ofslita:
   1. present
   2. imperative

• IPA^(key):/sliːt/

slīt

1. third-personsingularpresentindicative ofslīdan

Deverbal fromslita(“to toil”).

slit n

1. toil,labour (grueling work)

• slit och släp

• slita
• slitig
• slitsam

slit

1. imperative ofslita

• list,lits,silt,stil