slate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   designate or schedule

   We slated the talk for 9 AM.

2. 2
   verb

   cover with slate

   Slate the roof.

3. 3
   verb

   enter on a list or slate for an election

   The candidate was slated for borough president.

4. 4
   noun

   A flake or piece of certain types of stone that tend to cleave into thin layers.

   Some of the minor Welsh 2 ft. gauge railways, we hear from Mr. N. F. G. Dalston, are enjoying a miniature boom owing to the demand for slate for the repair of damaged roofs.

The noun is derived from Middle English sclate, slat, slate (“type of rock; roofing slate; writing slate”), from Old French esclate, a feminine form of esclat (“broken piece, shard”) (modern French éclat), from Old French esclater (“to break, shatter”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slaitijaną, the causative of *slītaną (“to cut up, split”); further etymology unknown (see the Proto-Germanic entry for a discussion). Doublet of éclat and slat. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

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