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Origin and history of slick

slick(v.)

Middle English sliken "to smooth, polish," from Old English -slician (in nigslicod "newly made sleek"), from Proto-Germanic *slikojan, from *slikaz "sleek, smooth" (source also of Old Norse slikr "smooth," Old High German slihhan "to glide," German schleichen "to creep, crawl, sneak," Dutch slijk "mud, mire"). This is reconstructed to be from PIE *sleig- "to smooth, glide, be muddy, spread," from root *(s)lei- "slimy" (see slime (n.)). Related: Slicked; slicking.

slick(n.)

1620s, a kind of cosmetic (original citation describes it as "painting stuffe of the Levant"), from slick (v.). The meaning "smooth place on the surface of water caused by oil, etc." is attested from 1849. The meaning "a swindler, clever person" is attested from 1959. As "glossy magazine," by 1934.

also from 1620s

slick(adj.)

mid-14c., slike, "smooth, glossy, sleek" (of skin or hair), probably from an unrecorded Old English word related to slick (v.). The sense of "smooth, plausible" is recorded from 1590s, deteriorating by 1807 into "clever in deception." That of "first-class, excellent" is from 1833. Related: Slickly; slickness.

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to slick

slime(n.)

"Any soft, ropy, glutinous, or viscous substance" [Century Dictionary], Old English slim "soft mud," from Proto-Germanic *slimaz (source also of Old Norse slim, Old Frisian slym, Dutch slijm "slime, phlegm," German Schleim "slime"), which is probably related to Old English lim "birdlime; sticky substance."

This is from a PIE root *(s)lei- "slimy, sticky, slippery" (source also of Sanskrit linati "sticks, stays, adheres to; slips into, disappears;" Russian slimak "snail;" Old Church Slavonic slina "spittle;" Old Irish sligim "to smear," leinam "I follow," literally "I stick to;" Welsh llyfn "smooth;" Greek leimax "snail," limne "marsh, pool, lake," alinein "to anoint, besmear;" Latin limus "slime, mud, mire," linere "to daub, besmear, rub out, erase").

As an insult to a person from mid-15c. Figuratively, of anything clinging and offensive, 1570s. Slime-mold, common name for a type of fungi, is from 1880.

city(n.)

c. 1200, from Old French cite "town, city" (10c., Modern French cité), from earlier citet, from Latin civitatem (nominative civitas; in Late Latin sometimes citatem) originally "citizenship, condition or rights of a citizen, membership in the community," later "community of citizens, state, commonwealth" (used, for instance of the Gaulish tribes), from civis "townsman," from PIE root *kei- (1) "to lie," also forming words for "bed, couch," and with a secondary sense of "beloved, dear."

Now "a large and important town," but originally in early Middle English a walled town, a capital or cathedral town. Distinction from town is early 14c. OED calls it "Not a native designation, but app[arently] at first a somewhat grandiose title, used instead of the OE. burh" (see borough).

Between Latin and English the sense was transferred from the inhabitants to the place. The Latin word for "city" was urbs, but a resident was civis. Civitas seems to have replaced urbs as Rome (the ultimate urbs) lost its prestige. Loss of Latin -v- is regular in French in some situations (compare alleger from alleviare; neige from nivea; jeune from juvenis. A different sound evolution from the Latin word yielded Italian citta, Catalan ciutat, Spanish ciudad, Portuguese cidade.

London is the city from 1550s. As an adjective, "pertaining to a city, urban," from c. 1300. City hall "chief municipal offices" is first recorded 1670s; to fight city hall is 1913, American English. City slicker "a smart and plausible rogue, of a kind usu. found in cities" [OED] is first recorded 1916 (see slick (adj.)). City limits is from 1825.

The newspaper city-editor, who superintends the collection and publication of local news, is from 1834, American English; hence city desk attested from 1878. Inner city first attested 1968.