Etymograph

English

schlich

Schlich comes from Old High German slich, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *slīką.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slīką1reconstructed
  2. Old High Germanc. 750–1050slich1
  3. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350slich1
  4. Germanc. 1650–presentSchlich2
  5. Englishtodayschlich2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, German Schlich
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English schlich

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slīkąWiktionary, German Schlichreconstructed
  2. Old High Germanc. 750–1050slichWiktionary, German Schlich
  3. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350slichWiktionary, German Schlich
  4. Germanc. 1650–presentSchlichWiktionary, English schlich
  5. EnglishtodayschlichWiktionary, English schlich

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *slīką

Today it means

noun The finer portion of crushed ore, as of gold, lead, or tin, separated by the water in certain wet processes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “schlich”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for German Schlich. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *slīką / schlich

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