English Explanatory Dictionary

sludge

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Solids separated from suspension in a liquid.
  2. A residual semi-solid material left from industrial, water treatment, or wastewater treatment processes.
  3. A sediment of accumulated minerals in a steam boiler.
  4. A mass of small pieces of ice on the surface of a water body.
  5. Ellipsis of sludge metal.
  6. Institutional policies that introduce tedium and inefficiency in processes.
verb
  1. To slump or slouch.
  2. To slop or drip slowly.
noun
  1. An acronym used to help remember the common symptoms of certain affections of a cholinergic toxidrome: salivation, lacrimation, urination, defecation, gastrointestinal upset, emesis.

Pronunciation

/slʌd͡ʒ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sludge.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-sludge.wav

Word forms

sludge sludges slutch sludging sludged

Etymology

From Middle English slugge, sluche (“mud, mire”), probably an alteration of Middle English sliche, slicche ("mud, slush, tar"; whence Modern English slitch), from Old English *sliċ, from Proto-West Germanic *sliki, *slīk, from Proto-Germanic *slikiz, *slīką (“mud, slush”). Cognate with Dutch slijk, German Schlick. Compare also slush.

Synonyms

mire mud ooze slush DUMBELS

Derived words

activated sludge antisludge biliary sludge biosludge desludge mudge oil sludge primordial sludge sludge acid sludgecore sludge hole sludgelike sludgemaker sludge metal sludge out sludger sludgy

Translations

Chinese Mandarin: 污泥 Esperanto: ŝlimo Finnish: liete Finnish: lieju Finnish: muta French: lie German: Schlamm German: Matsch Irish: dríodar Japanese: 泥 Japanese: 泥土 Korean: 진흙 Korean: 진창 Māori: kene Plautdietsch: Moarauss Portuguese: sedimento Russian: шлам Russian: ил Spanish: lodo Spanish: sedimento Spanish: puaj Spanish: fango Spanish: pecina Ukrainian: мул
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