slate

¹slate

noun \ˈslāt\

Definition of SLATE

1

: a piece of construction material (as laminated rock) prepared as a shingle for roofing and siding

2

: a dense fine-grained metamorphic rock produced by the compression of various sediments (as clay or shale) so as to develop a characteristic cleavage

3

: a tablet (as of slate) used for writing on

4

a : a written or unwritten record (as of deeds) <started with a clean slate> b : a list of candidates for nomination or election

5

a : a dark purplish gray b : any of various grays similar in color to common roofing slates

— slate adjective

— slate·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of SLATE

1. Some school blackboards are made of slate.
2. The house has a slate roof.

Origin of SLATE

Middle English sclate, slate, from Anglo-French *esclat, from esclater to splinter, break off, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German zesleizzen, slīzan to tear apart — more at slit

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with SLATE

ait, bait, bate, blate, cate, crate, date, eight, fate, fete, freight, gait, gate, grate, great, haet, hate, late, mate, pate, plait, plate, prate, quoit, rate, sate, skate, spate, state, straight, strait, teth, trait, wait, weight