The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
Appendix I
Indo-European Roots
ENTRY:
lei-
DEFINITION:
Also slei-. Slimy. Derivatives include slime, slick, and oblivion. 1a.slime, from Old English slm, slime; b.slippery, from Old English slipor, slippery; c.slick, from Old English *slice, smooth, and -slcian, to make smooth; d.lime3, from Old English lm, cement, birdlime; e.loam, from Old English lm, loam; f.slight, from Middle English slight, slender, probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse slttr, smooth, sleek; g.slip1, from Middle English slippen, to slip, probably from a source akin to Middle Dutch and Middle Low German slippen, to slip, slip away; h.schlep, from Middle Low German slpen, to drag. a–h all from Germanic *sl- with various extensions. 2. Suffixed form *lei-mo-.limacine, limicoline, from Latin lmus, slime. 3. Suffixed form *lei-w-.oblivion, oubliette, from Latin oblvsc, to forget (< “to wipe, let slip from the mind”; ob-, away; see epi). 4. Extended form *(s)lei-, with metathesis *(s)le(i)-.a. Zero-grade form with nasal infix *li-n--.liniment, from Latin linere (perfect lv), to anoint; b. suffixed zero-grade form *l- (< *li-). litotes, from Greek ltos, plain, simple; c. suffixed metathesized form *le-wo-, whence *l-wo-.levigate, from Latin lvis, smooth. (Pokorny 3. lei- 662.)
m, slime; b. slippery, from Old English slipor, slippery; c. slick, from Old English *slice, smooth, and -sl
m, loam; f. slight, from Middle English slight, slender, probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse sl
ttr, smooth, sleek; g. slip1, from Middle English slippen, to slip, probably from a source akin to Middle Dutch and Middle Low German slippen, to slip, slip away; h. schlep, from Middle Low German sl
- with various extensions. 2. Suffixed form *lei-mo-. limacine, limicoline, from Latin l
-, with metathesis *(s)le
