▪ I. slit, n.
(slɪt)
Forms: 3–6 slytte, slitte, 6 slyt, 6–7 slitt, 4, 6– slit.
[f. slit v. Cf. OE. ᵹeslit tearing, biting, = ON. (Icel., Norw., MSw.) slit (Da. slid), G. schliss; OE. slite, = MDu. and MLG. slete (Du. and LG. sleet); also MDu. slitte, slette (Du. slet) and OHG. sliz (G. schlitz).]
1. A straight and narrow cut or incision; an aperture resembling a cut of this description: a. In clothing; † sometimes in specific senses, as the opening in the front of a shirt, a pocket, etc.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 1118 If hi mowe i-seo þe sitte, Stones hi doþ in heore slytte. a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 348 Þu most habbe redi mitte Twenti Marc ine þi slitte. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 1406 (Kölbing), Þe king was wondred out of witt & toke þe messanger bi þe slit. 1530 Palsgr. 271/2 Slytte of a womans gowne, fente, dune robe a femme. 1563 Foxe A. & M. 1076/2 A close hoode, with two holes for his eyes..& a slit for his mouthe to breath at. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 432 Hee put the sword into the fire,..and so thrust it into the slit of his shirt. 1796 W. Mason Birth of Fashion Poems (1830) ii. 32 To show her legs (inglorious thought) By well-chose slits in petticoat. 1855 Bell Wks. Chaucer VII. 41 note, The fashion of..cutting it [sc. the dress] in slits so as to show the under⁓garment or lining. |
b. In general use.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cii. (Bodl. MS.), Droppinge þat comeþ oute atte kenes & slittes þat beþ made þerein is acounted lasse worþe. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1120 With brymstoon resolute ypitte Aboute in euery chynyng, clift, or slitte. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §3 The hynder ende of the ploughebeame is put in a longe slyt. 1571 Digges Pantom. i. xxii. G iij, A thinne plate halfe an ynche broade,..and in the middes a fine slytte. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iv. ix. 166 A long slit is made in each of them. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 106 Just in that space a narrow Slit we make. 1747–96 H. Glasse Cookery v. 57 Take a large leg of lamb, cut a long slit on the back. 1769 Lloyd's Even. Post 20–2 Sept. 283/3 Quills thus..hardened, bear longer Slits, which Slit is always free. 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 157 When the cutting had once commenced, it was easily continued until a deep slit was produced in the steel. 1856 G. Wilson Gateways Knowl. (1859) 12 When Pussy is basking in the sun..she shows..only a narrow slit for a pupil. 1871 B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §19 The thermometer is inserted through a closely fitting slit in a thick piece of india-rubber. |
c. A long narrow aperture in a wall; a window of this form. Also
transf.| 1607 Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 119 To a joyner for a great casement for one of the longe slitts, 3s. 4d. 17.. Ramsay Up in the Air ii, Nae starns keek throw the azure slit. 1859 Jephson Brittany vi. 70 An aisle pierced by twenty-four mere slits of round-headed windows. 1894 J. Macintosh Ayrshire Nights Entert. xvii. 304 On the right-hand side is an arrow-slit commanding the outer doorway. |
d. The vulva.
coarse slang.
Its currency is restricted in the manner of other coarse terms: see small-type note
s.v. fuck v.
| 1648 R. Herrick Hesperides 47 Scobble for Whoredome whips his wife; and cryes, He'll slit her nose; but blubb'ring, she replyes, Good Sir, make no more cuts i' th' outward skin, One slit's enough to let Adultry in. 1714 Cabinet of Love 18 His tarse, as soon as to my slit applied Up to the hilt into my cunt did slide. 1970 G. Greer Female Eunuch 265 The vagina..belittled by terms like..slit. 1977 Rolling Stone 24 Mar. 41/4 What am I going to call it? Snatch, Twat? Pussy? Puss puss, nice kitty, nice little animal that's so goddam patronizing it's almost as bad as saying ‘slit’. |
e. A narrow,
usu. straight aperture in an optical instrument through which a beam of light can be received.
| [1832 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) II. ii. iii. 25/1 Instead of a row of holes, he formed one narrow slit in the shutter... By this means a spectrum of any required breadth may be formed.] 1863 E. Atkinson tr. Ganot's Elem. Treat. Physics vii. iv. 410 A telescope, the eyepiece of which can be regulated by a micrometric screw... The slit is in the focus of the object-glass of the telescope. 1888 Proc. R. Soc. XLIII. 130 Huggins's photograph of the spectrum of Comet Wells, taken with a wide slit. 1905 E. C. C. Baly Spectroscopy iii. 48 As generally used at the present time the slit is formed between two metal jaws, one of which is fixed while the other is moved by a fine-pitched screw. 1926 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. X. 186 If the spectrophotometer has a second collimator, the continuous spectrum may be formed from an incandescent light placed in front of its slit. 1969 D. W. Tenquist et al. University Optics I. xi. 293 (caption) Fraunhofer diffraction at a double slit. |
2. fig. A schism, division, split.
rare—1.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 15 In holy cherche of such a slitte Is for to rewe unto ous alle. |
3. Agric. A part of a field which has been ‘split’ in ploughing.
rare.
| 1778 [W. H. Marshall] Minutes Agric. 25 Oct. 1775, A level field, plowed in gathers and slits with a fixed-wrist plow. |
4. Coal-mining. (See
quots.)
| 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) 44 Slit, a communication between two adits. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 227 Slit, a short heading put through to connect two other headings. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
slit-like,
slit-shaped,
slit-ways,
slit-wise;
slit drum, a primitive percussion instrument made out of a hollowed log with a longitudinal slit;
slit-eyed a., having long and narrow eyes;
slit fricative Phonetics, a fricative or spirant sound made by expelling the breath through a narrow aperture;
slit-gong = slit drum above;
† slit-graft, a graft inserted in a slit in the stock, or intended for this purpose;
† slit-grafting, grafting performed by means of a slit in the stock;
slit lamp Ophthalm., a lamp which emits a narrow but intense beam of light, used for examining the interior of the eye;
freq. attrib.;
slit-limpet (see
quots.);
slit-planting,
-setting, a mode of planting or setting in which mere slits are made in the ground with a spade or similar implement;
slit pocket, a side pocket in a garment, with a vertical opening;
slit sampler, a device for studying the bacterial content of the air, having a slit through which it is drawn;
slit setting: see
slit planting above;
slit sound,
spirant Phonetics = slit fricative above;
slit-trench, a narrow trench made to accommodate and protect a soldier or weapon in battle.
| 1933 Africa VI. 155 The deep-toned *slit-drum..is assigned by ethnologists..to the matriarchal ‘two-class’ culture circle. 1957 New Oxf. Hist. Music I. ii. 185 The wooden fish, still in use among Taoists and Buddhists, is a slit-drum. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIV. 61/2 In Vietnam the slit-drum is both a temple and a watchmen's instrument. On Java slit-drums can be traced to the Hindu-Javanese period (1st–9th century ad). |
| 1894 Daily News 18 June 6/3 Bands of *slit-eyed Chinamen. 1899 F. T. Bullen Log Sea-waif 44 That slit-eyed pagan..found me out. |
| 1955 H. A. Gleason Introd. Descr. Linguistics ii. 22 Because of the *slit-like shape of the opening, these sounds are called slit fricatives. 1973 J. C. Wells Jamaican Pronunc. in London 127 This feature is an extension of the..distinction between ‘groove’ and ‘slit’ fricatives. |
| 1938 Jrnl. R. Anthrop. Inst. LXVIII. 241 Samara returned to the village and after beating the *slit-gong gave vent to his grievance. 1970 Times 23 Feb. 10/4 (caption) A ‘slit gong’ which has been accepted by the Queen as a gift... The gong is used in the New Hebrides to convey messages, summon people and sound the alarm. |
| 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard. I. ii. xii. 164, I desire you would tell me how a *Slit-graft should be cut. |
| Ibid. 159, I shall only mention Three different Sorts of Grafting, viz. Scutcheon-grafting, *Slit-grafting, and Crown-grafting. 1763 Mills Pract. Husb. IV. 213 Cleft-grafting, called also Stock, or Slit-grafting. |
| 1922 Arch. Ophthalm. LI. 271 Many new phases of examination of the living eye are made possible by the use of the *slit lamp. 1961 [see gonioscope]. 1978 Jrnl. R. Soc. Med. LXXI. 100 Slit-lamp examination revealed a moderate number of cells in the anterior and posterior vitreous. |
| 1869 G. Lawson Dis. Eye (1874) 137 To draw the opaque lens out of the eye through a *slit-like opening. |
| 1901 E. Step Shell Life 193 The *Slit-limpets (Fissurellidae)..have a slit which serves the purpose of an excretory orifice. Ibid. 195 Common Slit-limpet (Emarginata fissura). |
| 1832 Planting 35 in Husb. (L.U.K.) III, *Slit planting is the most simple mode, and is practised on soils in their natural state. 1843 J. Smith Forest Trees 64 What is called slit-planting I consider best on shallow ground. |
| 1933 J. E. Liberty Practical Tailoring ix. 169 *Slit pockets are somewhat similar to trouser pockets and are made with jettings, or welts, but the pocket is not sewn twice. The mouth of the pocket is almost upright and at least 7 in. long for a normal size coat. 1978 M. Sichel Costume Reference 8: 1918–1939 36 Many skirts worn with blouses had pockets at the sides or slit pockets and belts of the same material. |
| 1941 R. B. Bourdillon et al. in Jrnl. Hygiene XLI. 220 The range of concentrations which can be measured accurately with the *slit sampler is from about 1 to 10,000 per cu. ft. 1963 Walter & Israel Gen. Path. xix. 295 The slit-sampler consists of a narrow slit through which air is sucked on to a rotating culture plate beneath it. |
| 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 253 The injury is less than that of the same kind incident to *slit-setting, by means of a spade. |
| 1890 Doyle White Company xxix, The narrow *slit-shaped openings at either side of the ponderous gate. |
| 1912 *Slit sound [see rill n.1 4]. |
| 1958 *Slit spirant [see rill n.1 4]. 1970 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1968 l. 21 The phoneme /θ/ of thirty, Martha, hearth is a voiceless dental slit spirant [θ]. |
| 1942 *Slit trench [see fox-hole]. 1944 Times 12 May 3/2 At Manus Island the prisoners were made to dig slit trenches for the Japanese. 1971 B. W. Aldiss Soldier Erect 162 My slit-trench is the first on the right, next to the cookhouse. Cheerio, Ali, you old robber! |
| 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Grafting, The Azerole or small Medlar may particularly be grafted *Slitwise [1727 Slit-ways] upon the white Thorn. |
▪ II. slit, v. (
slɪt)
Pa. tense and
pple. slit. Forms: (see below).
[ME. slitte weak v., obscurely related to OE. sl{iacu}tan: see slite v. It is very doubtful whether there is any direct connexion with the ONorthumb. forms
-slitten for the
pa. pple. -sliten, and
-slittes,
-slitteð,
-slittað for
-sl{iacu}tes, etc., which belong to the verb (
to)sl{iacu}tan. The
ME. weak verb may rather correspond to
OHG. slizzan (
MHG. slitzen, G.
schlitzen):—
*slitjan. The earliest example occurs in the
pa. pple. i-slit; for slightly later instances see
to-slit v.]
1. trans. To cut into, or cut open, by means of a sharp instrument or weapon; to divide or sever by making a long straight cut or fissure; also, to take
off or
out in this way.
(
α)
inf. (and
pres.) 4–6
slytte; 4–5
slitte (5
sclitte,
slitt), 4, 6–
slit.
| c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 532 To doon his diligence,..Or with a swerd þat he wolde slitte his herte. 1530 Palsgr. 721/2 Slytte this stycke in twayne. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. i. 134 Ile slit the villaines nose that would haue sent me to the Iaile. 1637 W. Cartwright Royal Slave iii. iii, Let's slit this graver weazen. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 114 They slit the Noses of all their Asses, to make them breath more freely. 1747–96 H. Glasse Cookery v. 53 Slit them in two, and put the yolk of an egg over. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset II. li. 85, I was going to slit the picture from the top to the bottom. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 280 To slit the branch of a sapling tree. |
(
β)
pa. tense 4
slitte, 5
slytte,
slyt, 4–5, 7–
slit; also 4–5
slitted, 5
slytted.
| (a) 13.. Sir Beues 866 Sum vpon þe helm a hitte, In to þe sadel he hem slitte. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 39 Þan sche kutte and slitte here cloþes. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iii. ix. 55 Thenne sawe I yet another companye of whiche fowle Sathanas slytte the throtes. c 1450 Merlin vii. 118 He slyt a-sonder the sadell and the chyne of the horse. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 55 We slit a black Horse's Hair with a Razor, and perceived it to be hollow. 1873 Dixon Two Queens i. iv. I. 27 The figure drew a sword and slit Arbues through the elbow. |
| (b) a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxix. 14 Þou slitted mi sek in twa. c 1440 Jacob's Well 298 Þe turmentourys..slytted hym & his herte a-sunder. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 421/1 As hys cook dressyd and slytted it [sc. the fish]. |
(
γ)
pa. pple. 3
i-slit, 4
i-slitte, 5–6
slitte, 5
slyt(t,
sclyt, 6–
slit (7
slitt); also 7, 9
slitted.
The
mod. north. dial. slitten is
perh. a new formation, but may be a survival of the
pa. pple. of
slite v.
| (a) c 1205 Lay. 14221 Þa al islit wes þe þong, he wes wunder ane long. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 443 Þe bowels were i-slitte and y-turned to seche gold wiþ ynne. c 1400 Beryn 3204 With that cam þe vomman,—hir tunge was nat sclytt. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 34 This same Innocent..had a greuous sor, whech sor myth not be hol..with-outen þat it wer slitte. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. iv. 47 Y⊇ skinne beyng pretely slit. 1589 Pasquil's Ret. B iij b, Your tongue will be slitte if you take not heede. a 1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. i. i. ii. (1642) 29 Many..flying to the Enemy, were taken and slit in pieces. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 29 Their Shirt (which hath sleeves like our Womens Smocks, and is slit in the same manner) comes over their Drawers. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 164 ¶4 Sirrah, you deserve to have your Nose slit. 1823 H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 88 Crystals which might be conceived to have been slit in a particular direction. 1884 J. Gilmour Mongols xxiv. 296 The tongue they had slit and hung up to dry. |
| (b) 1602 W. Fulbecke Pandects 79 The nostrils of the adulteresse were slitted. 1900 Daily Mail 26 Apr. 4/4 The earth is all slitted with trenches. |
b. fig. To divide, separate, sever.
| a 1300 E.E. Ps. lxxxviii. 24 (Eg.), I sal slit [Harl. slitte] fra his face his ille-wiland. 1637 Milton Lycidas 76 Comes the blind Fury with th' abhorred shears, And slits the thin spun life. 1645 ― Colast. Wks. 1851 IV. 358 Now hee comes to the Position,..and like an able text man slits it into fowr. 1798 Poet. Anti-Jacobin No. 24. 127 'Till deadly Atropos with fatal sheers Slits the thin promise of the expected years. |
2. techn. To cut (iron) into rods or (wood) into thin deals.
| 1522– [see slitting vbl. n. 1, and slitting-mill 1]. 1796 Morse Amer. Geogr. I. 410 The slitting-mills in this district, it is said, annually slit 600 tons of iron. 1831 J. Holland Manuf. Metal I. 146 The practice of slitting, as it is termed, sheets of metal into light rods. 1873 Richards Operator's Handbk. 114 Carriage saws, such as are used for jointing floor boards or slitting very long stuff. |
3. Agric. To ‘split’ in ploughing.
| 1766 Compl. Farmer s.v. Lucern, In March the same year..he slit the ridges with the plough. |
Add:
4. To narrow (the eyes) into slits,
esp. for protection against the wind, rain, etc., as a sign of distrust, or in order to concentrate one's gaze; to half-close.
| a 1961 J. R. Ullman in Webster, Morning sunlight flooded in upon him, and he slitted his eyes against the glare. 1964 O. E. Middleton in C. K. Stead N.Z. Short Stories (1966) 203 With a half-smile he slits his eyes against the smoke. 1975 M. Duffy Capital iii. 132 Meepers began to chip away at the hard earth, slitting his eyes against the flying fragments. 1989 Washington Post 8 Mar. d3/2 Slitting his eyes as if sensing a trick question, the secretary said, ‘It's just a very worthwhile institution.’ |
▪ III. slit, ppl. a. [f. prec.] 1. Of garments: Rent, torn; slashed.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 297 Cloþed in slitte cloþis and foule. 1438 E.E. Wills (1882) 111 A gowne..with slyt slyues y-furred. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 30 Thei were the furst that brought up this astate that ye use of gret purfiles and slitte cotes. 1706 Lond. Gaz. No. 4257/4 A brown Coat, with slit Sleeves. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 129 ¶10 A Coat with long Pockets, and slit Sleeves. |
2. Naturally divided or cloven.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 99 The face of this beast is fleshy,..his ears..are slit. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 2 His feet are slit into claws or talons. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 170 Its tongue..is forked or slit at the end like that of serpents. |
3. a. Cut with a sharp instrument; divided by slitting.
| 1611 Cotgr., Fendu, the slit, or clouen side of a thing. 1648 Hexham ii, Gesliste ooren, Slit or Cropped eares. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. vi. Wks. 1851 V. 254 Canute..took the hostages.., and with slit Noses..setting them ashore, departed into Denmarke. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Grafting, Loam and slit Osier. 1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 240/2 Looking along the slit-side of the vessel. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. i. 1 The weights that pull the slit ears in long nooses to the shoulder. 1885 Meredith Diana i, Poniarded, slit-throat, rope-dependant figures. |
b. spec. Of deals: (see
quot. 1842).
| 1632 in E. B. Jupp Carpenters' Co. (1887) 297 The dividing of..Chambers and other roomes..with slitt or whole deales. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing iv, The Bearers are made of Slit-Deal. 1703 Stanton in De Foe Storm (1896) 329 We are obliged to make use of slit deals to supply the want of slats and tyles. 1772 T. Simpson Vermin-Killer 26 Lay a piece of slit deal over the trap. 1842 Gwilt Archit. Gloss. s.v. Board, Fir boards of this sort, one inch and a quarter thick, are called whole deal, and those a full half inch thick, slit deal. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2212/2 Slit-deal Plane, a tonguing or grooving plane. |
c. In various special collocations (see
quots.).
slit skirt, a tight skirt slit upward from the hem for ease of movement or sexual allurement.
| 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 107 Wether, hogget, ewe, weaner, *slit-ear. |
| 1789 Deb. Congress U.S. 17 Apr. (1834) I. 167 To lay an impost of seven and a half per cent..upon..*slit or rolled iron. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 188 These rods are also made of larger sizes, when they are called slit iron. |
| 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 96 An oblong hole, into which a *slit-nail is put. |
| 1846 Holtzapffel Turning II. 540 The nose-bit,..called also the *slit nose-bit,..is slit up a small distance near the center. |
| 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 47 The third [school] is for Boys painting the Toys and *slit Pictures. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 503 A circular rack..that holds the curb or *slit-piece. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 270 This slit⁓piece [in a silk-winding engine] is called the cleaner. |
| 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. II. 319 ‘*Slit rods,’ which are used for nail-making. 1882 Worc. Exhib. Catal. iii. 18 Slit rods for making into nails. |
| 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 216 Genus Pleurotomaria, ‘*Slit-shell’. 1897 Woodward in Concise Knowl. Nat. Hist. 632 The Pleurotomidae, or slit⁓shells, have conical, spiral shells with a notch in the outer lip at the periphery. |
| 1913 Punch 30 July 101/2 Four young women who last week promenaded Fifth Avenue, New York, in *slit skirts..were surrounded by an enraged mob. 1954 C. G. Bradley Western World Costume xxi. 342 The hobble skirt of 1914 was worn even on long walking excursions. The slit skirt of the same year brought protests from bishops and ministers. 1976 ‘M. Delving’ China Expert i. 7 The slit skirt of the ch'i pao she always wore. |
| 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. 18 Such as were the *Slit-stones, or Slates which succeeded the stately marbles. |
| 1799 S. Freeman Town Officer 124 All boards, plank, timber and *slitwork..shall be surveyed. |
4. Comb., as
slit-eared,
slit-footed,
slit-nosed.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 176 Cloven- or slit⁓footed into many claws. 1850 W. Irving Mahomet xxxv, Al Adha or the slit-eared, the swiftest of his camels. 1880 Browning Dram. Idylls, Muléykeh 32 You feed young beasts..of famous breed, Slit-eared, unblemished. 1884 Coues N. Amer. Birds 733 Gaviæ, Slit-nosed Longwings. |