sleuth
pronunciation
How to pronounce sleuth in British English:
UK [slu:θ]
How to pronounce sleuth in American English:
US [sluθ]
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- Noun:
- a detective who follows a trail
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- Verb:
- watch, observe, or inquire secretly
Word Origin
- sleuth
- sleuth: [12] Sleuth originally meant ‘track, trail’ (‘John of Lorn perceived the hound had lost the sleuth’, John Barbour, The Bruce 1375). It was borrowed from Old Norse slóth ‘track, trail’, which was probably also the ultimate source of English slot ‘trail of an animal’ [16]. In the 14th century the compound sleuth-hound ‘bloodhound for tracking fugitives’ was coined. This was later shortened back to sleuth, and applied in 19th-century America to a ‘detective’.=> slot
- sleuth (n.)
- c. 1200, "track or trail of a person," from Old Norse sloð "trail," of uncertain origin. Meaning "detective" is 1872, shortening of sleuth-hound "keen investigator" (1849), a figurative use of a word that dates back to late 14c. meaning a kind of bloodhound. The verb (intransitive) meaning "to act as a detective, investigate" is recorded from 1905. Related: Sleuthed; sleuthing.
Example
- 1. The sleuth examined the crime scene for clues that might crack the case .
- 2. Art sleuth : using high-tech tools to solve the mystery of a missing masterpiece .
- 3. Sherlock holmes is not just doing wonders for bbc 's ratings , the eccentric sleuth can perhaps also be credited with re-igniting the fortunes of british heritage label belstaff whose tweed overcoat has become a latter-day cape and deerstalker .
- 4. The pleasure of reading a classic detective story comes from the way that the sleuth puts together several clues to arrive at a surprising conclusion .
- 5. In it , visitors will be asked to assist a fictional sleuth , and physics aficionado , in chasing an equally scientifically-minded villain by conducting a series of 37 experiments which probe the nature of light-something it is easier to do in the dark .