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Where does the word "sleight" come from? It comes from Old Norse slaegth, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "sleight" come from? It comes from Old Norse slaegth, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).
Sleight’s story begins in Old Norse: slaegth meant “cunning, cleverness.” Cunning, cleverness, skillful trickery. It reached English by 1200s as sleight. Settled as the English word for skillful, dexterous trickery. Today, sleight means skillful dexterity, especially used in deceptive tricks, as in sleight of hand.
- Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval slaegth "cunning, cleverness", cunning, cleverness, skillful trickery.
- Stage 2 · English · 1200s sleight "skillful, dexterous trickery", settled as the English word for skillful, dexterous trickery.