v.
- cut with a violent sweeping movement.
- informal reduce (a price, quantity, etc.) greatly.
▸
[as adj. slashing]
vigorously incisive or effective.
- archaic lash, whip, or thrash severely.
▸criticize severely.
n.
- a cut made with a wide, sweeping stroke.
- a bright patch or flash of colour or light.
- an oblique stroke (/) used between alternatives, in fractions and ratios, or between separate elements of a text.
- Brit. informal an act of urinating.
- N. Amer. debris resulting from the felling or destruction of trees.
Etymology
ME: perh. imitative, or from OFr. esclachier ‘break in pieces’.