slough1
/
slaʊ/
n.
- a swamp.
▸N. Amer. a muddy side channel or inlet.
- a situation characterized by lack of progress or activity.
Derivative
Etymology
OE slōh, slō(g), of unknown origin.
slough2
/
slʌf/
v.
- (of an animal, especially a snake) cast off or shed (an old skin).
-
(slough away/down)
(of soil or rock) collapse or slide into a hole or depression.
n.
the dropping off of dead tissue from living flesh.
Derivative
Etymology
ME (as n. denoting a skin, especially the outer skin shed by a snake): perh. rel. to Low Ger. slu(we) ‘husk, peel’.