slink

Meaning

Verb

1. To sneak about furtively.
2. To give birth to an animal prematurely.

Noun

1. A furtive sneaking motion.
2. The young of an animal when born prematurely, especially a calf.
3. The meat of such a prematurely born animal.
4. (obsolete) A bastard child, one born out of wedlock.
5. A thievish fellow; a sneak.

Adj

Thin; lean

Synonyms

sneak

steal

creep

lurk

tiptoe

crawl

creep up

decamp

disappear

dodge

escape

fade

fade away

forfeit

get away

go

go around

make off

perish

prowl

push off

run away

scarper

skulk

tip

tippytoe

vanish

wiggle

keep away from

make oneself scarce

show a clean pair of heels

sneak up

take to one’s heels

waste

make one’s gateway

abscond

prematurely born child

avoid

beat it

break away

cast

Pronounced as (IPA)

/slɪŋk/

Etymology

From Middle English slynken, sclynken, from Old English slincan (“to creep; crawl”), from Proto-Germanic *slinkaną (“to creep; crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleng-, *slenk- (“to turn; wind; twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“to sneak; crawl”). Cognate with West Frisian slinke, Dutch slinken (“to shrink; shrivel”), Low German slinken, Swedish slinka (“to glide”). Compare also German schleichen (“to slink”). More at sleek.