different between slither vs prance

English

Etymology

From Middle English slitheren, alteration of slideren (“to slither, creep”), from Old English slidrian (“to slip, slide, slither”), from Proto-West Germanic *slidr?n (“to slide, slither”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyd?- (“to slip”), equivalent to slide +? -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Dutch slidderen (“to slip, wriggle, slither”), German schlittern (“to slither, skid”). More at slide.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?sl?ð.?(?)/
• Rhymes: -?ð?(r)

Verb

slither (third-person singular simple present slithers, present participle slithering, simple past and past participle slithered)

1. (intransitive) To move about smoothly and from side to side.
2. (intransitive) To slide
   • 2003, J. Flash, An American Savage

     I bent down and with both hands I scooped up as much of this pissshit as I could. The green and brown clump felt like Jello as it dripped down all over my clothes. It was slithering through inbetween my fingers.

Derived terms

• aslither
• slitherlink
• Slytherin

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

slither

1. (archaic) slithery; slippery

Noun

slither (uncountable)

1. A limestone rubble.
2. (nonstandard, see usage notes) A sliver.

Usage notes

The use of slither to mean sliver, which is prevalent especially in Britain (where th-fronting is becoming more and more prevalent), is considered by many to be an error, though at least one major dictionary merely labels it "informal" [1].

See also

• sliver

Anagrams

• Hirtles, Hitlers, Shitler, relisht

English

Etymology

From Middle English prancen, prauncen (“to prance; literally, to show off”), variant of Middle English pranken (“to prank”). Cognate with Bavarian prangezen, prangssen (“to put on airs”), Alemannic German pranzen (“to strut”). More at prank.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /p?æn(t)s/
• Rhymes: -æns
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p???n(t)s/
• Rhymes: -??ns

Verb

prance (third-person singular simple present prances, present participle prancing, simple past and past participle pranced)

1. (of a horse) To spring forward on the hind legs.
2. (colloquial, figuratively) To strut about in a showy manner.

Derived terms

• prancesome
• prancy

Translations

Noun

prance (plural prances)

1. A prancing movement.
   • D. H. Lawrence, The Rainbow

     There seemed a little prance of triumph in his movement,

Anagrams

• parcen