slink

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /slɪŋk/ UK /slɪŋk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to move quietly and furtively, as if ashamed or stealthy

The cat tried to slink past the dog unnoticed.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move quietly and... sneak creep skulk prowl steal slip

Word family

Derived forms slinky

Related forms slankslunk

Simplified etymology

Slink comes from Old English and originally carried the sense “to crawl or creep.” This early meaning parallels the origins of snake and serpent, both of which were likewise named for creeping movement.

Etymology

From Old English slincan ('to creep, crawl'), from Proto-Germanic *slinkaną, related to Low German slinken ('to subside').

slincan Old English *slinkaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# slink

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /slɪŋk/
**IPA (UK):** /slɪŋk/

## Meanings
1. to move quietly and furtively, as if ashamed or stealthy

## Examples
- The cat tried to slink past the dog unnoticed.

## Synonyms
- sneak
- creep
- skulk
- prowl
- steal
- slip

## Derived Forms
- slinky

## Related Forms
- slank
- slunk

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: slincan
- Root: *slinkaną

## Etymology
From Old English slincan ('to creep, crawl'), from Proto-Germanic *slinkaną, related to Low German slinken ('to subside').

## AI Etymology
Slink comes from Old English slincan ('to creep, crawl'), from Proto-Germanic *slinkaną, related to Low German slinken ('to subside'). The historical chain includes Old English slincan and Proto-Germanic *slinkaną. Older glosses in the chain include "to creep, crawl" and "to subside", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, slink is best read as borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to move quietly and furtively, as if ashamed or stealthy". English derivatives include slinky; related forms include slank and slunk. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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