From Middle English sloor (“thin or fluid mud”). The ultimate origin is uncertain, but perhaps related to a group of words derived from Proto-Germanic *slūm- (“loose, slack, flabby”), such as slumber.
Cognate with Middle Low German sluren (“to trail in mud”). Also related to dialectal Norwegian sløra (“to be careless, to scamp, dawdle”), Danish sløre (“to wobble, be loose”) (especially for wheels); compare Old Norse slóðra (“to drag oneself along”).
* (an extremely offensive term): Influenced by various compounds of sense 1 such as racial slur, ethnic slur, etc.
Meanings
An insult or slight, especially one that is muttered incoherently under one's breath.
It seems that according to their best guess, our mother's ^([sic]) drank too much coffee or alcohol, took drugs, or were under stress during the period of our conception. Underlying all this speculation is, of course, the big slur: we're some kind of unnatural or abnormal product, outside of humanity and their religions. 1989 December 10, Zane Gilstrap, “Speculations About Why We're Gay”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 22, page 5:
An insult or slight, especially one that is muttered incoherently under one's breath. ▸ A derogatory term targeted at a group of people (such as an ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.).
In interviews, current and former students of color described an environment rife with racial insensitivity, including casual uses of slurs. 2020 December 26, Dan Levin, “A Racial Slur, a Viral Video, and a Reckoning”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Jun 2023:
Elon Musk's recent declaration that the term "cis" is a slur indicates just how much transphobia is now central to Twitter. 2023 July 7, Johanna Mellis, “Now more than ever, cis female athletes must show solidarity with trans athletes”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2023:
A mark of dishonour; a blight or stain.
This was a reproach to John, and a slur upon the dog; and both were alive to their misfortune. 1887, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Pastoral”, in Memories and Portraits, New York: Charles Scribner, page 99:
a slur on one's reputation
The undeserved slur which he had cast on my management of the household did not, I am happy to say, prevent me from returning good for evil to the best of my ability, by complying with his request as readily and respectfully as ever. 1859 November 26 – 1860 August 25, [William] Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], published 1860, →OCLC:
An act of running one's words together; poor verbal articulation.
And now I'm drinking too much, so I'ma talk with a slur 2019, Juice Wrld, “Robbery”:
Any instance of separate things gradually blending together, such as heartbeats in some medical disorders.
A set of notes that are played legato, without separate articulation.
The symbol indicating a legato passage, written as an arc over the slurred notes (not to be confused with a tie).
ru инсинуа́ция (insult or slight) · de Beleidigung (insult or slight) · tr aşağılama (insult or slight) · gl alcume (insult or slight) · de Bindebogen (symbol indicating a legato passage) · es insulto discriminatorio (insult or slight) · fr insulte (insult or slight) · ja 卑罵語 (insult or slight) · fr liaison d'expression (symbol indicating a legato passage) · de Verunglimpfung (insult or slight) · mi rōnaki (set of notes) · ru клеветни́ческое обвине́ние (insult or slight) · it legatura di portamento (symbol indicating a legato passage) · ja 軽蔑語 (insult or slight) · uk слюр (insult or slight) · fi herja (insult or slight) · hu leszólás (insult or slight) · gl gafume (insult or slight) · es ligadura (symbol indicating a legato passage) · gd ceangal (symbol indicating a legato passage) · it legatura di frase (symbol indicating a legato passage) · cmn 蔑稱 /蔑称 (insult or slight) · sv bindebåge (symbol indicating a legato passage) · fi legato-kaari (symbol indicating a legato passage) · mi tīkai (insult or slight) · it legatura di espressione (symbol indicating a legato passage) · pt insulto (insult or slight) · fr coulé (symbol indicating a legato passage) · hu gyalázkodás (insult or slight) · fi sidekaari (symbol indicating a legato passage) · pt ligadura (symbol indicating a legato passage) · ru слюр (insult or slight) · es insulto étnico (insult or slight) · tr hakaret (insult or slight) · es ligadura de expresión (symbol indicating a legato passage) · es legato (symbol indicating a legato passage) · fr injure (insult or slight) · pl oszczerstwo (insult or slight) · nl legatoboog (symbol indicating a legato passage) · es insulto racista (insult or slight) · ja 蔑称 (insult or slight) · fi legato-jakso (set of notes) · fi loukkaus (insult or slight) · bg оскърбление (insult or slight) · ga tarcaisne (insult or slight) · da skældsord (insult or slight) · ru оскорби́тельный намёк (insult or slight) · fr legato (symbol indicating a legato passage) · bg легато (symbol indicating a legato passage) · pl obelga (insult or slight) · ru лега́то (symbol indicating a legato passage)
From Middle English sloor (“thin or fluid mud”). The ultimate origin is uncertain, but perhaps related to a group of words derived from Proto-Germanic *slūm- (“loose, slack, flabby”), such as slumber.
Cognate with Middle Low German sluren (“to trail in mud”). Also related to dialectal Norwegian sløra (“to be careless, to scamp, dawdle”), Danish sløre (“to wobble, be loose”) (especially for wheels); compare Old Norse slóðra (“to drag oneself along”).
* (an extremely offensive term): Influenced by various compounds of sense 1 such as racial slur, ethnic slur, etc.
Meanings
To insult or slight.
And how men slur him, saying all his force / Is melted into mere effeminacy? 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 6:
To run together; to articulate poorly.
"Thank you for your donation," the girl says, slurring the words together into a single syllable. 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 182:
Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884:
to slur syllables; He slurs his speech when he is drunk.
To play legato or without separate articulation; to connect (notes) smoothly.
Notes , the stems of which are joined together by cross lines, as in united quavers , semiquavers , & c . or notes over the heads of which a curve is drawn, to signify that they are to be slurred 1817, Thomas Busby, A Dictionary of Music, Theoretical and Practical:
To soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace.
they do not only impudently slur the gospel, according to the history and the letter, in making it no better than a romantical legend[…] 1678, R[alph] Cudworth, The True Intellectual System of the Universe: The First Part; wherein All the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is Confuted; and Its Impossibility Demonstrated, London: […] Richard Royston, […], →OCLC:
To cover over; to disguise; to conceal; to pass over lightly or with little notice.
With periods, points, and tropes, he slurs his crimes. 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The First Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:
To cheat, as by sliding a die; to trick.
to slur men of what they fought for 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
(dated) To blur or double, as an impression from type; to mackle.
fr dévaloriser (to insult or slight) · fr lier (to play legato) · hu leszól (to insult or slight) · fr dissimuler (to cheat; to trick) · fi sammaltaa (to articulate poorly) · fr dévaloriser (to soil, sully, to contaminate, disgrace) · fi loukata (to insult or slight) · sv sluddra (to articulate poorly) · fi piilottaa (to cover over, disguise, conceal; to pass over with little notice) · bg опетнявам (to soil, sully, to contaminate, disgrace) · tr aşağılamak (to insult or slight) · sh nipodaštavati (to insult or slight) · it biascicare (to articulate poorly) · fi peittää (to cover over, disguise, conceal; to pass over with little notice) · sh nerazgovjetno govoriti (to articulate poorly) · fr mal articuler (to articulate poorly) · fi sopertaa (to articulate poorly) · de undeutlich reden (to articulate poorly) · fr traiter (to insult or slight) · ga aithisigh (to insult or slight) · fr glisser (to cover over, disguise, conceal; to pass over with little notice) · mi tīkai (to insult or slight) · fr filouter (to cheat; to trick) · fi herjata (to insult or slight) · hu gyaláz (to insult or slight) · sh razvlačiti (to articulate poorly) · ja 舌がもつれる (to articulate poorly) · bg обиждам (to insult or slight) · fr flouter (printing: to blur or double, as an impression from type; to mackle) · fi sujauttaa (to cover over, disguise, conceal; to pass over with little notice) · pl bełkotać (to articulate poorly) · mk слева (to articulate poorly) · fr rabaisser (to insult or slight) · fi huiputtaa (to cheat; to trick) · fi tahrata (to soil, sully, to contaminate, disgrace) · ru глота́ть (to articulate poorly) · pt arrastar (to articulate poorly) · es arrastrar las palabras (to articulate poorly) · es mascullar (to articulate poorly) · mk слева (to play legato) · fr dissimuler (printing: to blur or double, as an impression from type; to mackle) · sh nerazgovetno govoriti (to articulate poorly) · fi sitoa (to play legato) · fi pitää salassa (to cover over, disguise, conceal; to pass over with little notice) · fr dénigrer (to insult or slight) · fi loata (to soil, sully, to contaminate, disgrace) · it denigrare (to insult or slight) · fr maquiller (printing: to blur or double, as an impression from type; to mackle) · fr phraser (to play legato) · sh plesti jezikom (to articulate poorly) · fi huijata (to cheat; to trick) · sh mrljati (printing: to blur or double, as an impression from type; to mackle) · ru заплета́ться (to articulate poorly)