sley

or slay, sleigh

[ sley ]

noun

, plural sleys.

1. the reed of a loom.
2. the warp count in woven fabrics.
3. British. the lay of a loom.

verb (used with object)

1. to draw (warp ends) through the heddle eyes of the harness or through the dents of the reed in accordance with a given plan for weaving a fabric.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sley¹

before 1050; Middle English sleye, Old English slege weaver's reed; akin to Dutch slag, German Schlag, Old Norse slag, Gothic slahs a blow; slay

Example Sentences

Its surviving founders, the singer Cynthia Sley and the guitarist Pat Place, have regrouped the band — joined by Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth on drums and production — for its first album since 2012, which is due in July.

From New York Times

“Things I Put Together” reclaims Bush Tetras’ muscle, dissonance and die-hard contrarianism: “Still I won’t keep those things I put together,” Sley declares, going on to insist, “No never!”

From New York Times

Watching this, Cynthia Sley, the lead singer of the Bush Tetras, one of the quintessential New York post-punk groups, was dumbfounded.

From The Guardian

Related: 'He was like the Messiah': Larry Levan, the DJ who changed dance music forever “No one worked,” Sley continues.

From The Guardian

Examples given of new spelling of words Webster wanted to change from their English spellings but didn’t catch on: ake, sley, soop, spunge, tung, tuf, cloke, determin, wimmen.

From Washington Post