sloven
pronunciation
How to pronounce sloven in British English:
UK ['slʌvən]
How to pronounce sloven in American English:
US [ˈslʌvən]
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- Noun:
- a coarse obnoxious person
Word Origin
- sloven (n.)
- late 15c., "immoral woman," later (16c.) also "rascal, knave" (regardless of gender); probably from a continental Germanic source, compare Middle Flemish sloovin "a scold," sloef "untidy, shabby," Dutch slof "careless, negligent," Middle Low German sloven "put on clothes carelessly," from Proto-Germanic *slaubjan, from PIE *sleubh- "to slide, slip" (see sleeve). Meaning "person careless of dress or negligent of cleanliness" is from 1520s. Also see slut.
Example
- 1. If he ever approached intoxication -- or rather that ruddy warmth and comfortableness which precedes the more sloven state -- it was when individuals such as these were gathered about him , when he was one of a circle of chatting celebrities .