Slippery

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈslɪpəɹi/

Definitions

1. Difficult to hold or stand on due to having a smooth, wet, or greasy surface that causes reduced friction
2. Difficult to maintain a secure grip or footing owing to a smooth or moist surface that reduces friction and increases the likelihood of slipping
3. Having a surface that is smooth or wet, which makes it hard to hold on to or stand firmly without slipping

Etymology: Ancient Germanic speakers built "slippery" from the same root as "slip" itself, and the older form had a built-in sense of "sliding" that the modern word has largely lost. The Old English "slipor" grew from a Proto-Germanic base meaning "smooth," so the adjective originally described a surface that was smooth enough to let things glide away, not one that was merely treacherous underfoot. The "-y" ending was added in Middle English, when "slipper" (the earlier adjective) was extended into "slipperie." Around the same time, English speakers also used "slibbri" and "slubbri," forms that appear to have been borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German "slibberich." Those words still show the same idea of a surface that resists a firm grip. The word has close relatives across the Germanic languages. German "schlüpfrig," Danish "slibrig," and Swedish "slipprig" all share the same meaning, which suggests a common ancestor well before English developed its own forms.

Synonyms: slick, greasy, smooth, slimy, unstable

Antonyms: rough, gritty, sticky, firm, stable