English
sludge
Sludge comes from Middle English slugge ‘lazy person’, from Old Norse slókr ‘oaf (elf's child)’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *slakaz ‘weak, lazy’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slakaz1‘weak, lazy’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350slókr2‘oaf (elf's child)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slugge3‘lazy person’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013sludge3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Old Norse slókr
- 2 Wiktionary, Middle English slugge
- 3 Wiktionary, English sludge
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, High and wet: “Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slakazWiktionary, Old Norse slókr‘weak, lazy’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350slókrWiktionary, Middle English slugge‘oaf (elf's child)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sluggeWiktionary, English sludge‘lazy person’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013sludgeWiktionary, English sludge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, High and wet: “Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *slakaz ‘weak, lazy’
through Middle English slugge ‘lazy person’
Today it means
noun Solids separated from suspension in a liquid.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sludge”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old Norse slókr, Middle English slugge. 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 *slakaz / sludge