Etymograph

English

sluff

Sluff comes from Middle English slough ‘skin, husk, rind’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slough1‘skin, husk, rind’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1995sluff1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sluff
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Jan, Easy Doesn't Do It: “While I found wonderfully soft and untracked snow near…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sloughWiktionary, English sluff‘skin, husk, rind’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1995sluffWiktionary, English sluff. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Jan, Easy Doesn't Do It: “While I found wonderfully soft and untracked snow near…”

Linked words

through Middle English slough ‘skin, husk, rind’

slough

Today it means

noun An avalanche, mudslide, or a like slumping of material or debris.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sluff”. 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 / Middle English slough / sluff