English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English slitheren, alteration of slideren (“to slither, creep”), from Old English slidrian (“to slip, slide, slither”), from Proto-West Germanic *slidrōn (“to slide, slither”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- (“to slip”), equivalent to slide +‎ -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch slidderen (“to slip, wriggle, slither”), German schlittern (“to slither, skid”). More at slide.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈslɪð.ə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈslɪð.ɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)

Verb[edit]

slither (third-person singular simple present slithers, present participle slithering, simple past and past participle slithered)

1. (intransitive) To move about smoothly and from side to side.
2. (intransitive) To slide
   • 2003, J. Flash, An American Savage:

     I bent down and with both hands I scooped up as much of this pissshit as I could. The green and brown clump felt like Jello as it dripped down all over my clothes. It was slithering through inbetween^[sic] my fingers.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

slither

1. (archaic) slithery; slippery

Noun[edit]

slither (uncountable)

1. A limestone rubble.
2. (nonstandard, see usage notes) A sliver.

Usage notes[edit]

The use of slither to mean sliver, which is prevalent especially in Britain (where th-fronting is becoming more and more prevalent), is considered by many to be an error, though at least one major dictionary merely labels it "informal" [1].

See also[edit]

• sliver

Anagrams[edit]

• Hirtles, Hitlers, Shitler, relisht