Etymograph

English

slike

Slike comes from Middle English sliken ‘to smoothen, polish’, from Old English *slīcan ‘to crawl, slink’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sleyg-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slīkaną1‘to creep, crawl’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slīkan1‘to slide, to slip’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*slīcan1‘to crawl, slink’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sliken1‘to smoothen, polish’
  6. Englishtodayslike1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English slike

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sleyg-Wiktionary, English slikereconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slīkanąWiktionary, English slike‘to creep, crawl’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slīkanWiktionary, English slike‘to slide, to slip’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*slīcanWiktionary, English slike‘to crawl, slink’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slikenWiktionary, English slike‘to smoothen, polish’
  6. EnglishtodayslikeWiktionary, English slike

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-

slick, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *slīkaną ‘to creep, crawl’

slight, 2 more

Another origin of slike

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150slīcian‘to make sleek, slick, smooth, or glossy’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sliken‘to smoothen, polish’
  3. Englishtodayslike

Another origin of slike

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sleyg-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slīkaną‘to hew, hammer, strike’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*slīkan‘to slide, to slip’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150slīcan‘to strike’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*slīken‘to smoothen, polish’reconstructed
  6. Englishtodayslike

Today it means

verb To crawl; creep; slide.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “slike”. 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-Indo-European *sleyg- / slike

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