slean

Meaning

1. to hit; strike, punch

   Hē sċeal ġeþenċan þæt hit is āwriten, "Þām dysegan ne mæġ man mid wordum ġestīeran," and eft on ōðerre stōwe, "Sleah þīnne sunu mid ġierde, þonne ālīest þū his sāwle fram dēaðe."

   He should remember that it is written, "A fool cannot be corrected with words," and in another place, "Strike your son with a rod, and you will save his soul from death."

   c. 973, Æthelwold's translation of the Rule of Saint Benedict

2. to kill

   late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 9:25

   The hail killed everything that was outside, both people and animals.

3. to slaughter (an animal)

   late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Deuteronomy 28:31

   Your ox will be slaughtered in front of you, and you won't get to taste it.

4. to bite or sting

   Sē þrōwend is ǣtren and slihþ mid þām tæġle tō dēaðe.

   The scorpion is venomous and stings things to death with its tail.

   c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Greater Litany"

5. to pitch (a tent)

6. to mint (coins, money)

7. to move quickly and suddenly

Conjugation