Slain Is the Past Participle of a Verb Few People Use
Slain means killed. It survives mainly in formal, poetic and journalistic writing, where the plain verb has faded.
Slain is the past participle of *slay*, meaning killed, especially violently. The participle has outlived its verb: almost nobody says *he slew them* in ordinary speech, but *the slain* remains standard on war memorials and *slain* is common in American news writing. The verb survives mainly in headlines, scripture and fantasy. Modern slang revived *slay* in a wholly different sense, meaning to perform impressively, which now dominates casual usage.
- Killed. *The slain soldiers.*
- Slay — the verb. *Slay the dragon.*
- Slew — the past tense. *He slew it.*
- Slaughter — from the same root. *Slaughter.*
- Old English — *slean*, to strike. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Base | slay | Slay it. |
| Past | slew | He slew. |
| Participle | slain | Slain. |
| Noun | slaying | A slaying. |
| Related | slaughter | Slaughter. |
- The memorial lists the slain.Formal.
- He slew the dragon.Archaic.
- That outfit slays.Slang.
Where slay survives
- War memorials — the slain, the fallen
- American news writing — a man was slain
- Scripture and epic — David slew Goliath
- Fantasy — dragon-slaying
- Modern slang — to slay is to impress
Old English *slean*, to strike or kill, of Germanic origin; the same root gives *slaughter* and *sledgehammer*.
Is slay still a normal verb?
Barely in its literal sense, which survives in memorials, scripture, epic and American news style. The slang sense meaning to impress is now more common.
Are slay and slaughter related?
Yes. Both come from an Old English verb meaning to strike.