▪ I. slur, n.1 Now dial.
(slɜː(r))
Also 5 sloor, 5, 9 slore, 7 slurre.
[Of obscure origin. Cf. MDu. slore (Du. sloor, sloerie) a sluttish woman.]
Thin or fluid mud. Cf. slurry n. Also fig.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 460/1 Sloor [v.r. slore], or sowr.., cenum, limus. a 1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfe-Deceiving (1614) 382 Yet it [work] may not be foule, being soyled, and slubbered with the slurre of a rotten heart. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia 308 Slur,..loose, thin, almost fluid mud. 1829 Brockett N.C. Gloss. (ed. 2), Slore, dirt, sump. 1878 Miller & Skertchly Fenland iv. 131 Slur—thin washy mud. |
▪ II. slur, n.2
(slɜː(r))
Also 7 slurr.
[f. slur v.2]
1. † a. A gliding movement in dancing. Obs.
| 1598 Marston Sco. Villanie iii. x. H 3, In discoursing of the gracefull slur: Who euer heard spruce skipping Curio Ere prate of ought, but of the whirle on toe. 1667 Dryden Secret Love v, I can..walk with a courant slurr, and at every step peck down my Head. 1673 Wycherley Gent. Dancing-Master iv. i, One, two, three, and a slur. |
b. dial. A slide; a sliding course.
| 1854– in Lanc. and Northampt. dialect. |
† 2. A method of cheating at dice (see slur v.2 1). Obs.
| a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary ii. iii, Your hollowed thumb join'd with your wriggled box, The slur, and such like are not to be talk'd of. 1662 J. Wilson Cheats iv. i, Did not I..teach you, your Top, your Palm, and your Slur?.. And generally, instructed you from Prick-penny, to Long Lawrence? a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 143 Rooking Gamesters..venture all their Bets Upon the Slurs, and cunning Tricks of ablest Cheats. |
3. A sliding piece of mechanism in a knitting-machine, serving to depress the sinkers. Also attrib., as slur-bar, slur-cock, etc.
| 1796 Trans. Soc. Arts XIV. 279 To move the catches from the end of the jacks, and let them fall, the slur..passes behind them. Ibid. 280 The slur is composed of two pieces screwed together. 1834–6 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VIII. 747/2 A straight iron bar,..called the slur bar, is extended beneath all the jacks, and upon this a piece of metal, called the slur, travels with rollers to reduce the friction. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1237/2 The sinkers..are at the same time depressed, one after another, by the cam or slur above them. 1927 T. Woodhouse Artificial Silk ix. 98 The jack sinkers..are operated directly or indirectly by means of the cam of a ‘slur-cock’. 1962 Engineering 15 June 771/1 Straight bar knitting machines..depend largely for their successful operation upon the motion given by a linear cam known as the ‘slurcock’. |
▪ III. slur, n.3
(slɜː(r))
Also 7 slurr(e.
[f. slur v.1]
1. a. A deliberate slight; an expression or suggestion of disparagement or reproof.
| 1609 [Bp. W. Barlow] Answ. Nameless Cath. 287 The Count..would bee inraged at this Slur and mockage. 1660 H. More Myst. Godl. vii. xvi. 346 Which is a scurvy slur to these Astrologers. 1666 Pepys Diary 4 Nov., My Lord Generall is become mighty low in all people's opinion, and..hath received several slurs from the King. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. lvi. (1865) VII. 105 Vitellius seems to have felt this officious zeal as a slur on his own torpidity. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. I. xix. 25 A district would think it a slur to be told that it ought to look beyond its own borders for a representative. |
b. A mark, stain, or blot; a discredit (incurred by or cast upon a person, etc.). Const. to or upon.
| 1662 Glanvill Lux Orient. viii. 85 It would have been a slurre to the divine goodnesse not to have given being to such creatures. a 1716 South Serm. (J.), No one can rely upon such an one..without a slur to his reputation. 1722 De Foe Moll Flanders (1840) 101 Not to get the least slur upon my reputation. 1820 Byron Mar. Fal. i. ii, Who..on the honour of..my wife..Left a base slur to pass from mouth to mouth. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1869) III. iii. 148 Whose revolting predilections are not only a slur upon the age which tolerated them, but a disgrace. |
c. In the phrases to cast, put, throw (etc.) a slur on or upon (a person or thing).
| 1654 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 151 Some say there was never such a slur put upon the Jesuits. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. vii. 404 It would cast a slurre on the credit of such Bishops. 1726 De Foe Hist. Devil (1840) i. xi. 155 Provoked at the slur that was put upon him. 1785 B. Harrison in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) IV. 90 They..would sensibly feel any slur cast on your reputation. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 239 Tourville would not consent to put such a slur on his profession. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis Faith iii. 96 To cast an intolerable slur and disgrace upon human intellect. |
† 2. A fault, mistake, blunder. Obs.
| 1662 H. More Antid. Ath. ii. xii. §14 That Nature should implant in Man such a strong propension.., is such a Slur committed by her as there can be in no wise excogitated any Excuse. 1675 Traherne Chr. Ethics 167 That desire, which makes to the perfection of all goodness, must infinitely avoid every slur and miscarriage as unclean. |
3. Printing. (See quots.)
| 1771 Luckombe Hist. Print. 501 Slur, when the impression of the sheets appear smeared. 1882 Southward Pract. Print. (1884) 427 The letters may print double—this is caused by a ‘slur’. 1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 127 Slur, when a printed sheet is blurred or smeared—also called a ‘shake’. |
4. Mus. A curved line placed over or under two or more notes of different degrees to show that they are to be played or sung smoothly and connectedly.
| 1801 Busby Dict. Mus., Slur, a character..drawn over or under the heads of those notes which are meant..to be blended by a kind of smooth, gliding progression. 1848 Rimbault Pianoforte 63 The chief marks of expression are the Slur, the Tie, and the Dash or Point. 1875 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v., In violin music a slur directs that the notes under it are to be played with one bow. |
| attrib. 1818 Busby Gram. Mus. 148 A manner commixed of that indicated by the Slur Curve, and that implied by the Staccato Dash. |
5. A slurred utterance or sound.
| 1861 Reade Cloister & H. I. 60 There were none of..those whining slurs, which are now sold so dear by Italian songsters. 1894 Sweet Anglo-Sax. Reader (ed. 7) p. lxxxvi, Two short syllables..constituting a slur,..which must be uttered very rapidly. 1898 G. Meredith Poems 111 He [the lark] drops the silver chain of sound..In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake All intervolved. |
6. The act or habit of slurring, or doing hurriedly and imperfectly. Also Comb.
| 1882 Blackmore Christowell xxii, As every one who does good work, in this age of slur, gets overworked immediately. 1884 Jefferies Life of the Fields (1893) 234 Country people have not yet got into the habit which may be called slur-reading. |
7. A blurred atmosphere.
| 1880 Blackmore Mary Anerley II. xv. 272 After the fog and the slur of the day, to see the sky at all was joyful. |
▪ IV. slur, v.1
(slɜː(r))
[f. slur n.1]
1. trans. To smear, stain, smirch, sully. Also fig. Now dial.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iii. ii, Her cheekes not yet slurd ouer with the paint Of borrowed crimsone. 1614 Latham Falconry (1633) 47 A piece of Flannell or Cotten,..foule and slurred. 1658 Owen On Temptat. viii. Wks. 1852 IV. 145 Its beauty would be slurred, its good things reviled. 1716 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 239 This Gent. hath many good Qualities, tho' they were all slurr'd by his complying with the Rebells in opposition to K. James. 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 187 Pennant,..Whose pages, though slurr'd with the dear egomet, Demand from a public warm gratitude's debt. 1833 I. Taylor Fanat. ii. 46 The most pernicious and virulent heart has no power of ejecting its venom upon a fair surface;—it must slur whatever it means to poison. 1854– in dialect glossaries (Northampt., Derby, Yks.). |
b. Printing. To smudge or blur.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xiii. ¶4 The Broad Sholdering..receiving the Ink..slurs the Printed Paper. Ibid. xxiv. ¶15 The Plattin..shoves the Sheet upon the Face of the Letter, and sometimes Slurs, and sometimes Doubles it. 1870 Eng. Mech. 11 Feb. 534/3, I do not find the proof slurred. |
c. U.S. To coat or cover (a wall) with plaster or rough-cast.
| 1885 Harper's Mag. Mar. 531/1 The rear wall is slurred, and from it three windows open into a garden. |
2. To disparage, depreciate, calumniate, asperse.
| 1660 H. More Myst. Godl. iv. i, Coming into the World on purpose to slight and slur that which is of the greatest esteem..with the Natural Man. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 I. 35 It is an aggravation of impiety..that it slurs (as it were) and defames God. 1707 Humfrey De Justif. Baxteriana 4 That you appear to slur, what I and Mr. B. have wrote, by terming it Arminianism. 1770 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 231 The idea of a triennial parliament, which the jury of London..thought proper to fasten upon him in order to slur us. 1805 Scott Let. 10 Feb. in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Commiss. 431/2 Hardly anything was so likely to be of advantage to the Lancastrians as to slur the descent of the house of York. 1867 J. B. Rose Virgil's æneid 322 Think not I blame or slur your bravery. |
3. To pass over lightly, without proper mention or consideration.
| 1660 H. More Myst. Godl. v. xvii. 203 By slurring the main Scope of the Apocalypse, and pretending [etc.]. 1678 Cudworth Intellect. Syst. 684 Triumphing to see the cause of theism thus betrayed by its professed friends.., and the grand argument for the same totally slurred by them. 1781 Cowper Hope 555 Beneath well-sounding Greek I slur a name a poet must not speak. c 1850 Kingsley Misc. (1859) I. 19 Biographers have slurred a few facts in their hurry to carry out their theory of favourites. 1871 Farrar Witn. Hist. i. 8 To silence a doubt, or slur a difference. |
b. Freq. with over. Also with ref. to utterance.
| 1725 Swift Let. to Stopford 26 Nov., Your other correspondents tell me that Mr. G...lost 200l. in money, which to me you slur over. 1775 Sheridan Art Reading 212 The little word, as, which is always slurred over. 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 216 The very laconic manner in which the great Sir Noodle slurs over the above topics of literature. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars vii. 330 Carlyle has gone far to spoil the story by slurring it over. |
c. To disguise, conceal. rare—1.
| 1826 Lamb Elia ii. Conf. Drunkard, Those juggling compositions, which..slur a great deal of brandy or other poison under less and less water continually, until they come..to none at all. |
† 4. To put off with something trivial or unsatisfactory. Obs.
| 1749 Power of Numbers in Poet. Comp. 28 Whilst the longest Syllable or the most emphatical Word shall be slur'd off with a Crotchet or a Quaver. 1751 J. Brown Shaftesb. Charac. 157 Thus, we see how dextrously he puts the change upon the unwary reader; and..slurs him off with an accidental consequence. |
5. Mus. To sing or play (notes) in a smooth and connected manner; to mark with a slur.
| 1746 [see slurred ppl. a.]. 1782 [see sense 6]. 1873 H. C. Banister Music 256 Exception would be made to this..in the case of a series of notes included in one phrase, especially if slurred. 1881 Grove's Dict. Mus. III. 536/2. The notes included within its limits are said to be slurred. |
6. To render confused or indistinct; to blur.
| 1782 Sir J. Reynolds Notes Mason's tr. Dufresnoy lvi, The parts [of the human figure] never appearing uncertain or confused, or, as a Musician would say, slurred. 1889 J. M. Robertson Ess. Crit. Method 120 Lax imagination slurs and confuses the lineaments of living character. |
b. intr. To become indistinct through imperfect articulation.
| 1893 Kipling Many Invent. 234 His speech, which up to that time had been distinct, began to slur. |
7. To go through hurriedly and carelessly. Also intr. with through.
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. ix, They only slurred through their fagging. 1894 Blackmore Perlycross 13 Having slurred his early dinner with his usual zest. |
▪ V. slur, v.2
(slɜː(r))
Also 7–8 slurr, 9 dial. slir.
[? Related to LG. slurrn (G. schlurren, schlorren) to drag the feet, to shuffle: cf. MLG. slûren (LG. sluren), MDu. sloren (Du. sleuren), to drag, trail.]
† 1. trans. To slip or slide (a die) out of the box so that it does not turn. Obs.
| 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. 3 If he slur a die. 1660 Harrington Pres. Pop. Govt. i. xi. (1700) 292 A man that has read my Writings..cannot chuse but see how he slurs his Dice. 1674 Cotton Compl. Gamester (1680) 11 On a smooth table..it is usual for some to slur a Dye two yards or more without turning. c 1700 Prior Cupid & Ganymede 32 The usual Trick: Seven, slur a Six; Eleven: A Nick. |
† b. In fig. uses or contexts. Obs.
| a 1680 Butler Charact. (1908) 90 He [the quibbler] commonly slurs every fourth or fifth Word, and seldom fails to throw Doublets. 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 19 (1713) I. 128 But then, Sir, by the by, does he slur in upon them his State Enthusiasms. 1685 F. Spence tr. Varilla's Ho. Medici 304 Piero de Medici thought Bentivoglio had talk't thus..to slurr upon him a Bravade. |
† 2. To cheat or cozen. Obs.
| 1664 Butler Hud. ii. ii. 192 What was the Publick Faith found out for, But to slur men of what they fought for? 1679 Hist. of Jetzer 30 The Fathers design'd to put a trick upon him, but in the event they would be slurred themselves. 1731 Fielding Lottery Epil., This too may turn me off tomorrow morning. If that should happen, I were finely slur'd. |
3. intr. To slide, slide about. Now dial.
| 1617 Assheton Jrnl. (Chetham Soc.) 62 To Portfield: ther paid up and made merrie. Tables slurring almost all night. 1675 H. Teonge Diary (1825) 78 Severall tumbles wee had, wee and our plates, and our knives slurrd oft together. 1796– in many dialect glossaries, etc. |
4. To drag, move heavily.
| 1889 Cent. Mag. June 250 Her soft, heavy footsteps slurred on the stairway as though her strength were failing. |