Slovenly

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David Myer
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Slovenly

Postby David Myer » Wed Feb 22, 2017 5:19 am

I had occasion this evening to accuse my 19 year old son of being slovenly. And I got to thinking about whether this word was once an adverb and whether a sloven is a person who behaves in a slovenly fashion (perhaps behaves slovenlyly)?

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Slava
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Re: Slovenly

Postby Slava » Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:08 pm

Took a look and turns out it's both an adjective and adverb. And, yes, it started out as sloven, the person who is slovenly.
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Perry Lassiter
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Re: Slovenly

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:08 pm

The word always brings to mind a high school English teacher who had a tendency to spray those in the front row. Ergo, you could sit in the back and stay dry, but not hear very well, or you couod sit up front and take your chances. Unfortunately, she also had a propensity to attack boys verbally as "sloppy, slovenly, slothful," and several other sl- words that maximized the spray.
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