Sly

Sly
This interesting surname is of early medieval English origin, and is from a nickname for a cunning or crafty individual, derived from the Midland and Southern Middle English (1200 - 1500) "sligh", sly, earlier "slegh", from the Old Norse "slaefr". This is an example of that sizeable group of early European surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to a variety of characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, mental and moral characteristics, supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition, habits of dress, and occupation. The modern surname can be found as Sly, Sligh, Slyman, Sliman, Slimmon, Slimming, Slee(man) and Slemming, and is mainly found in the West Midlands. Among the recordings in Worcestershire are the christening of Thomas, son of Thomas Sly, on September 17th 1600 at Eastham, and the marriage of John Sly and Mary Brockhurst, on April 26th 1683 at Yardley. The marriage was recorded in Staffordshire of Hames Sly and Sarah Griffin on June 13th 1774 at St. Matthew's, Walsall. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph Sly, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Roll of Huntingdonshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Sly 3 — Éditeur Sony Computer Entertainment Développeur Sucker Punch Productions Date de sortie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sly — Sly, a. [Compar. {Slier}or {Slyer}; superl. {Sliest} or {Slyest}.] [OE. sli, slegh, sleih, Icel. sl?gr, for sl?gr; akin to Sw. slug, Dan. slu, LG. slou, G. schlau; probably to E. slay, v.t.; cf. G. verschlagen sly. See {Slay}, v. t., and cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sly — is an adjective, meaning one of the following:#Clever in practical matters. #Hiding ones true intentions or goals.Its synonyms are cunning and roguish .Sly is also a proper masculine name, short for Sylvester. It is the name of several famous… …   Wikipedia

  • sly — sly, cunning, crafty, tricky, foxy, insidious, wily, guileful, artful are comparable when they mean having or showing a disposition to attain one s ends by devious or indirect means. Sly implies a lack of candor which shows itself in… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • sly — [ slaı ] adjective 1. ) clever at tricking people or at secretly doing unfair or dishonest things 2. ) a sly smile, look, or remark shows that the person doing it knows something that other people do not know: He made a sly reference to the… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • sly — [slaı] adj [Date: 1200 1300; : Old Norse; Origin: slœgr] 1.) someone who is sly cleverly deceives people in order to get what they want = ↑cunning 2.) sly smile/glance/wink etc a smile, look etc that shows you know something secret ▪ He leaned… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • sly — c.1200, from O.N. sloegr cunning, crafty, sly, from P.Gmc. *slogis (Cf. Low Ger. slu cunning, sly ), probably from base *slog hit (see SLAY (Cf. slay)), with an original notion of able to hit. Cf. Ger. verschlagen cunning, crafty, sly,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • sly — [slī] adj. slier or slyer, sliest or slyest [ME sley < ON slœgr, clever, cunning, lit., able to strike < base of slā & OE slean, to strike: see SLAY] 1. Dial. skillful or clever 2. skillful at trickery or deceit; crafty; wily 3. showing a… …   English World dictionary

  • SLY — est un groupe de heavy metal japonais créé en 1994, formé d ex membres de groupe populaires, notamment le chanteur Minoru Niihara et le batteur Munetaka Higuchi, alors ex membres du groupe Loudness. Après la séparation de SLY en 1998, ils… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • sly — ► ADJECTIVE (slyer, slyest) 1) having a cunning and deceitful nature. 2) (of a remark, glance, or expression) insinuating. 3) (of an action) surreptitious. ● on the sly Cf. ↑on the sly …   English terms dictionary

  • sly|ly — «SLY lee», adverb. in a sly manner; secretly. Also, slily …   Useful english dictionary

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