▪ I. † ˈsleazy, n. Obs. rare.
In 7 Sleasie, 8 Slesey.
[Abbreviated f. silesia.]
= silesia 1.
| 1670 Blount Glossogr. (ed. 3) s.v. Sleasie Holland, That only is properly Sleasie or Silesia Linen cloth, which is made in [and] Comes from the Country Silesia in Germany. 1696 J. F. Merch. Wareho. laid open 36, I shall now begin according to my promise to treat of Sleasie Lawns, it being a very useful Linnen here with us, it takes its name from a town called Slesia in Hamborough, and not for its wearing Sleasie, as a great many do imagine. 1706 Lond. Gaz. No. 4226/4, 8 Pieces of Norwich Druggit,..4 Pieces of Hambrough Cloth, 1 Piece of Slesey. |
▪ II. sleazy, sleezy, a.
(ˈsliːzɪ)
Forms: α. 7 sleasie, sleazie, 7–8 sleasy (9 dial. -ey), 8– sleazy (9 dial. slazy). β. 7 slezie, 8 slesy, 9 sleezy.
[Of uncertain origin; the evidence seems to be against any original connexion with prec.
The mod. dial. verb sleaze, sleeze, to wear badly, may be merely a back-formation from the adj.]
1. (See quots.)
| 1644 Digby Nat. Bodies xxxiv. §1. 288 Some drye partes of such liquors, are of themselues as it were hairy or sleasy, that is, haue litle downy partes, such as you see vpon the legges of flies. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2192/1 It smooths down the sleezy and fuzzy fibers of the twisted rope. Ibid. 2207/1 Sleezy,..rough from projecting fibers, as yarn or twine made of inferior material. |
2. a. Of textile fabrics or materials: Thin or flimsy in texture; having little substance or body.
| α 1670 Blount Glossogr. (ed. 3) s.v., Sleasie Holland, common people take to be all Holland, which is slight or ill-wrought. 1696 J. F. Merch. Wareho. laid open 21 It..will not wear near so well.., by reason it is made of more sleasie thread than the former is. 1718 Ozell tr. Tournefort's Voy. I. 258 'Tis a sleasy sort of stuff, but thickens and contracts by being well pressed on the sea⁓sand. 1757 Washington Let. Writ. 1889 I. 424 They were presented each with a suit made of thin, sleazy cloth without lining. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia 306 Slazy, of loose and open texture, easily torn, and soon worn out. 1866 Sala Trip to Barbary 365 You know that Sleazy calico was made in a mill and by steam power. 1876 C. D. Warner Winter on Nile i. 20 Their one sleazy skirt giving little protection against the keen air. |
| β 1670 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 15 The silke sleizie and not Naples, which will soone grow rough, gather dust and sullie. 1706 E. Baynard Cold Baths ii. 376 A thin slesy Coat of Sarsenet. 1856 Househ. Words XIII. 99 A sleezy, cobwebby, hairy genus of coverlets. 1893 Mrs. T. Coke Gentlewoman at Home vii. 102 ‘Sleezy’ silks, wispy surahs, or cottony velvets. |
b. transf. and fig. Slight, flimsy, unsubstantial.
| c 1645 Howell Fam. Lett. (1650) II. 2, I cannot well away with such sleazie stuff, with such cobweb compositions. 1648 Petit. Eastern Ass. 26 Their vain, and sleasy opinions about Religion. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life ii. (1861) 51 You shall not conceal the sleezy, fraudulent, rotten hours you have slipped into the piece. 1880 Blackmore Erema xvi. 96, I have only to deal with very little things, sometimes too slim to handle well, and too sleezy to be woven. |
c. Dilapidated, filthy, slatternly, squalid; sordid, depraved, disreputable, worthless.
| 1941 J. Faulkner Men Working i. 31 Gwendolin..had been hanging on to her dress and peering around her wide sleazy hips. 1941 W. A. Percy Lanterns on Levee x. 111, I was always happening on a Hermaphrodite, in some discreet alcove, and I would examine the sleazy mock⁓modest little monster. 1946 ‘P. Quentin’ Puzzle for Fiends 248 Her glamour dissolved... Suddenly Selena seemed sleazy. 1951 S. Kaye-Smith Mrs Gailey iv. xvi. 211 In her now was a real distaste for the sleazy comforts of Mrs Turner's kitchen. 1956 L. McIntosh Oxford Folly viii. 128 Beyond it was the cemetery and some sleazy suburb whose name Adrian did not know. 1958 Punch 27 Aug. 286/2 A kind of sleazy, leering sex for its own sake. 1959 F. Usher Death in Error x. 145 I've seen all the sleasy joints of Paris. 1966 Listener 30 June 947/2 He scratches a middle-aged living in Paris as a gigolo in a sleazy night club. 1971 B. W. Aldiss Soldier Erect 46 Some sleezy and probably malevolent god. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 1 May 19/1 The methods used to slur the innocent grew sleazier. 1977 Listener 3 Mar. 282/1 The entrance of Salomé is greeted by the world's sleeziest tune, ‘La Paloma’. 1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion i. iv. 42 Scollay Square, an area that was sleazy, neon lit, and disreputable. |