slatternliness n : in the manner of a slattern [syn: sluttishness]

English

Noun

1. The condition of being slatternly, or of being a slattern

Slut or slattern is a pejorative term for a person who is deemed sexually promiscuous. The term has traditionally been applied to women and is generally used as an insult or offensive term of disparagement. Slut has also been reclaimed as a slang term in the BDSM, polyamorous and gay and bisexual communities. It may be used by the person concerned as an expression of pride in their status, or to express envy at the "success rate" of others.

Etymology

Although the ultimate origin of slut is unknown, it first appeared in Middle English in 1402 as slutte (AHD), with the meaning "a dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman." Even earlier, Geoffrey Chaucer used the word sluttish (c.1386) to describe a slovenly man; however, later uses appear almost exclusively associated with women. The modern sense of "a sexually promiscuous woman" dates to at least 1450.

Another early meaning was "kitchen maid or drudge" (c. 1450), a meaning retained as late as the 18th century, when hard knots of dough found in bread were referred to as "slut's pennies." A notable example of this use is Samuel Pepys's diary description of his servant girl as "an admirable slut" who "pleases us mightily, doing more service than both the others and deserves wages better" (February 1664). In the 19th century, the word was used as a euphemism in place of bitch in the sense of "a female dog."

Similar words appear in Dutch, German and Swedish dialects meaning "a dirty woman," indicating a common ancestor in Germanic languages. A popular theory connects slut to earlier Germanic forms meaning "slush" or "mud puddle," but this derivation remains in question.

While the word slut also appears in modern Swedish, where it means "ending", it is not linguistically related to the English word. The Swedish word derives from the Proto-Germanic word *slut meaning "to close", which arrived in German as the word "Schluss" with the same meaning of "ending". It is related to the Latin word claudo meaning "to close".

Common usages

The accepted denotative meaning is a sexually promiscuous woman or "a woman of a low or loose character; a bold or impudent girl; a hussy, jade." These definitions identify a slut as a person of low character — a person who lacks the ability or chooses not to exercise a power of discernment to order their affairs, such as a cad, rake, or womanizer.

The term slut is therefore frequently used as an insult. The derogatory power of the term derives both from its denotative meaning of a promiscuous woman, but also from its historical and regional connotations or alternate meanings that identify a slut as a dirty or unkempt person. These additional meanings and connotations are negative and identify a slut as being a slovenly and ugly person, for example as in these quotations from OED2:

Hearne, 1715: "Nor was she a Woman of any Beauty, but was a nasty Slut."

Shenstone, 1765: "She's ugly, she's old,... And a slut, and a scold."

The attack on the character of the person is perhaps best brought together by the highly suggestive and related compound word, slut's-hole, meaning a place or receptacle for rubbish; the associated quote provides a sense of this original meaning:

Saturday Review (London), 1862: "There are a good many slut-holes in London to rake out."

The British journalist Katharine Whitehorn attempted to re-claim this latter meaning in a famous 1963 article in The Observer: "Have you ever taken anything out of the dirty-clothes basket because it had become, relatively, the cleaner thing? Changed stockings in a taxi? Could you try on clothes in any shop, any time, without worrying about your underclothes? How many things are in the wrong room—cups in the study, boots in the kitchen? ... [this makes] you one of us: the miserable, optimistic, misunderstood race of sluts." This article prompted a flurry of correspondence, with many women writing in to describe their own acts of sluttishness.

Alternate usages

Recent times have seen alternate slang usages of the word slut. It is often used against gay males and bisexuals, comparing them without merit as people who are promiscuous in that they have, or are reputed to have, many sexual partners, or whose sexuality is voracious, indiscriminate, and shameful.

With BDSM, polyamorous and non-monogamous people, in usage taken from the book The Ethical Slut, the term has been reclaimed as an expression of choice to openly have multiple partners, and revel in that choice: "a slut is a person of any gender who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that sex is nice and pleasure is good for you." (Easton, Dossie, & Catherine A. Liszt, The Ethical Slut, San Francisco 1997, p. 4, emphasis in original). A slut is a person who has taken control of their sexuality and has sex with whomever they choose, regardless of religious or social pressures or conventions to conform to a straight-laced monogamous lifestyle committed to one partner for life. The term has been "taken back" to express the rejection of the concept that government, society, or religion may judge or control one's personal liberties, and the right to control one's own sexuality.

A few porn stars have embraced the term as a badge of pride for a sex-positive person.

The term is also used (principally by women) to describe a woman dressed provocatively or a woman being overtly flirtatious.

See also

• Slag
• The Ethical Slut
• Polyamory
• BDSM
• Rake (character)

References

• Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, entry for "slut"

External links

• Random House, The Word Maven's Word of the Day: "Slut"
• The Postmodern Courtesan, "The Etymology Lesson"