noun
Meaning 1
A killer; a murderer; someone who slays.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
slayer
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
UK: /ˈsleɪə/
-
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -eɪə(ɹ)
-
CMU ARPABET: S L EY1 ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A butcher.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncommon
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
someone who causes the death of a person or animal
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: killer
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
Narrower terms: executioner, public executioner, exterminator, terminator, eradicator, garroter, garrotter, strangler, throttler, choker, murderer, liquidator, manslayer, poisoner, regicide, suicide, felo-de-se
History
Etymology
From Middle English slear, sleere, sleare, slaare, dissimilated from Old English slaga (“slayer”), equivalent to slay + -er.
Across languages
Translations
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: убиец (ubiec) — one who slays
- Finnish: surmaaja — one who slays
- Finnish: tappaja — one who slays
- French: assassin — one who slays
- German: Töter — one who slays
- German: Abmurkser — one who slays
- Ingrian: mukistaja — one who slays
- Ingrian: tappaja — one who slays
- Italian: uccisore — one who slays
- Italian: assassino — one who slays
- Latin: homicīda — one who slays
- Latin: interfector — one who slays
- Latin: interfectrix — one who slays
- Latin: occīsor — one who slays
- Portuguese: assasino — one who slays
- Portuguese: assasina — one who slays
- Portuguese: matador — one who slays
- Portuguese: matadora — one who slays
- Portuguese: sicário — one who slays
- Portuguese: sicária — one who slays
- Russian: уби́йца (ubíjca) — one who slays
- Sanskrit: घातक (ghātaka) — one who slays
- Spanish: asesino — one who slays
- Spanish: asesina — one who slays
- Swedish: baneman — one who slays
Real reading context