It is very rare in UK usage (BNC). Noun. Related to slaughter, onslaught. 1. slain - killed; `slain' is formal or literary as in "slain warriors"; "a picture of St. George and the slain dragon". From Middle English sleen, slayn, from Old English slēan (“to strike, beat, smite, stamp, forge, sting, slay, kill, impact”), from Proto-Germanic *slahaną (“to fight, strike, kill”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”). This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. This page was last edited on 15 September 2020, at 11:30. slay (third-person singular simple present slays, present participle slaying, simple past slew or slayed, past participle slain or slayed). From Middle English sleen, slayn, from Old English slēan (“to strike, beat, smite, stamp, forge, sting, slay, kill, impact”), from Proto-Germanic *slahaną (“to fight, strike, kill”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”). Cognate with Dutch slaan (“to beat, hit, strike”), Low German slaan (“hit, strike”), German schlagen (“to beat, hit, strike”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish slå (“to knock, beat, strike”), Icelandic slá (“to strike”). slay′er n. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. A review of US usage 2000-2009 in COCA suggests that "slayed" is increasing in popularity, but remains less common than "slew". Related to slaughter, onslaught. The past tense of the first meaning is slew , while the past tense of the second meaning is slayed . "The grim and greedy one was soon prepared, savage and fierce, and in sleep he seized upon thirty of the thanes, and thence he again departed exulting in his prey, to go home with the carcases of the, We have come, O king, we have come from the caves and the rocks and the swamps, To wash in the blood of the, He may not indeed destroy the framework of the received legends--the fact, for instance, that Clytemnestra was. 1. 2. To kill violently. [Middle English slen, slayen, from Old English slēan .] Cognate with Dutch slaan (“to beat, hit, strike”), Low German slaan (“hit, strike”), German schlagen (“to beat, hit, strike”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish slå (“to knock, beat, strike”), Icelandic slá (“to strike”). Slang To overwhelm, as with laughter or love: Those old jokes still slay me. 1. slain - people who have been slain (as in battle) dead - people who are no longer living; "they buried the dead". ing, slays. Croiset remark, the abusive Thersites in the "Aethiopis" is clearly copied from the Thersites of the "Iliad"; in the same poem Antilochus, What glory wilt thou win By slaying twice the, If this man can come back alive after having been sold over into Lemnos, I shall have the Trojans also whom I have, Priam married his daughter along with many other women and two sons were born of her, both of whom you will have, Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content. Adj. Slayed or slew To slay something can mean to kill it or to amuse it.