sloe

noun
/ˈsləʊ/UK/ˈsloʊ/US

Etymology

From Middle English slo, sla, sloo, from Old English slā, slāh, from Proto-West Germanic *slaihā, from Proto-Germanic *slaihǭ, *slaihwō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₃y- (“bluish”). Doublet of Sliwa.

  1. derived from *(s)leh₃y- — “bluish
  2. inherited from *slaihǭ
  3. inherited from *slaihā
  4. inherited from slā
  5. inherited from slo

Definitions

  1. The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

    • There is also a dryness in the mouth from the increased action of the absorbent vessels, when a sloe or a crab-apple are masticated...
    • The dew-drops fell like water, leaf after leaf dropped from the trees, the sloe-thorn alone still bore fruit, but the sloes were sour, and set the teeth on edge. Oh, how dark and weary the whole world appeared!
    • Katúsha, with her eyes black as sloes, her face radiant with joy, was flying towards him, and they caught hold of each other's hands.
  2. The tree Prunus spinosa.

  3. Any of various other plants of the genus Prunus, as a shrub or small tree, Prunus…

    Any of various other plants of the genus Prunus, as a shrub or small tree, Prunus alleghaniensis, bearing dark-purple fruit.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for sloe. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA