/slæŋ/, [sleɪŋ]
OriginFirst use appears c. 1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Not believed to be connected with language or lingo.
Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, then possibly related to Nordic language: Danish slænge, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk slengja, Norwegian slenge, Swedish slänga (“to (carelessly) sling, throw, hurl; throw away, to dispose of; to flail”), with derivational nouns such as slæng, sleng, släng etc. Compare the compound: Danish slængenavn, Norwegian slengenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn, Swedish slängnamn (“nickname, byname, informal name”, literally “sling-name”), and the phrases: Norwegian Nynorsk slengja kjeften, Swedish slänga käften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jowl”), Swedish slänga ur sig (“to say something hastily, carelessly, thoughtlessly”, literally “to throw out of oneself”), also Swedish (regional) slänga (“careless, nonchalant girl”, literally “sling + feminine suffix -a”).
- countable, uncountableLanguage outside of conventional usage and in the informal register.
“She was amused by his talk, which was simple, straightforward, rather humorous and keen, and interspersed with homely expressions of a style which is sometimes called slang.”
“English-speaking Australians have always had a love affair with slang.”
“After years when I met a friend inside the aircraft and could sense stiffness in the conversation, a whiff of mild slang was the ice breaker, followed by loads of campus nostalgia.”
- countable, uncountableLanguage that is unique to a particular profession or subject; jargon.
- countable, uncountableThe specialized language of a social group, sometimes used to conceal one's meaning from outsiders; cant.
“"Oh, there are so many superior teas and sugars now. Superior is getting to be shopkeepers' slang. / "Are you beginning to dislike slang, then?" said Rosamond, with mild gravity. / "Only the wrong sor”
- countableA particular variety of slang; the slang used by a particular group.
“[F]or a detailed analysis see Liberman (2008 157ff) who sees it as one of a number of terms found in pan-European slangs meaning concealment and/or cheating.”
- countableAn item of slang; a slang word or expression.
“Anyway, I have learned many slangs while I am in New York, and one of them, a remarkable slang, is sheister.”
“The internet comes up with so many slangs used by people to survive in the online world. Many of those slangs are in the form of abbreviations, for instance, the word "u" which refers to "you"[.]”
“More importantly and closer to life, slangs help build an instant intimacy and informality.”
- India, countableA curse word.
“Such attempts were made even more aggressive by the fact that these local women were known for picking fights easily and using slangs to verbally abuse their neighbours.”
- UK, dialectalAny long, narrow piece of land; a promontory.
“There runneth forth into the sea a certaine shelfe or slang, like unto an out~thrust tongue.”
- UK, obsoleteA fetter worn on the leg by a convict.
- UK, obsolete, slangA counterfeit weight or measure.
- UK, obsolete, slangA travelling show, or one of its performances.
- UK, obsolete, slangA hawker's license.
- UK, obsolete, slangA watchchain.
- dated, transitiveTo vocally abuse, or shout at.
“Also, he had to keep his temper when he was slanged in the theatre porch by a policeman.”
“Stephen feared that he would yell louder, and was hostile. But they made friends and treated each other, and slanged the proprietor and ragged the pretty girls …”
“"If they had been a row of his favorite Pressmen he could not have slanged them worse."”
- archaic, form-of, pastsimple past of sling
“Before he slang the all-deciding stone[…]”
- Multicultural-London-English, transitiveTo sell (something, especially illegal drugs).
“Everyday I wake up gotta get back to the gwop
Just another fuckin day in that gangway slangin rocks”
“Whip, whip in the trap do up kitchen that's food (that's food)
Cookin up grub
Fuck, these niggas cookin up soup (uhhhhh)
Slang the crack or the black
Put the light and dark on the move
Gold and brown ”
“Bro I’m booky, I’ll take your food if my belly starts rumbling
They rap about bootings, they ain’t blammed nobody
Hold that properly when I bang that dotty
I put sniff in a rex, and I slang that bobby”
Formsslangs(plural) · slangs(present, singular, third-person) · slanging(participle, present) · slanged(participle, past) · slanged(past) · slanket(alternative)