Emily Dickinson Lexicon

slay (slain, slew), v. [OE sléan.] (webplay: death, lay, stone, strike).

1. Kill; deprive of physical life.
2. Smite; undo; change; transform through death to new life; [fig.] overcome; vanquish; destroy symbolically; cause to expire; overwhelm with sublime beauty.
3. End; finish; terminate; cause to cease; bring to a close.
4. Squelch; squash; [fig.] repress; try to forget.
5. Devastate; lay waste by grief; leave desolate due to loss of a loved one or loved ones.

sled (-s), n. [Middle Flemish.]

Drag; sledge; sleigh; vehicle with runners that slide over snow or ice.

sleek, adj. [ME slike, slick.] (webplay: appearance, ease, soft).

Smooth; not rough; not harsh; [fig.] simple; easy; not that bad.

sleep (-ing), n. [see sleep, v.] (webplay: careless, drink, drowsy, night).

1. Slumber; rest; closing of one's eyes to allow the body to achieve a relaxed state of mind.
2. Unconsciousness; absence of noise; quiet state of being; inactive frame of mind; lack of physical movement; [fig.] a mortal being; a slumbering person.
3. To be dead; to rest in the grave.
4. Sluggishness; state of suspended animation.
5. Oblivion.
6. Bedtime; [fig.] darkness; nighttime.
7. Natural unconscious state; temporary suspension of the nervous system; time of recuperation when muscles relax but respiration and blood circulation continue.
8. Coma; repose; [fig.] process of death.

sleep (-s, -ing, slept), v. [OE slápan.] (webplay: awake, dead, heavy, lay, live, night, rafter, rest, state, strength, time).

1. Rest; lie down; [fig.] remain dead; stay lifeless; continue to be buried underground awaiting the resurrection.
2. Recline; repose; [fig.] lie still; maintain a dormant state as a plant.
3. Slumber; lie down with closed eyes; rest in a state of suspended animation.
4. Phrase. “go/went to sleep”: nap; slumber.
5. Phrase. “go/gone to sleep”: die; expire; change from this life to the next.
6. Phrase. “lay to sleep”: inter; bury in the ground after death; [fig.] cover a plant with dirt at the end of the growing season.
7. Phrase. “go to sleep”: lose consciousness; slip into a coma.

sleeping, verbal n. [see sleep, v.]

Slumber; state of dreaming.

sleepy, adj. [see sleep, v.]

1. Drowsy; inclined to slumber; not able to keep awake; [fig.] tired of writing.
2. Insensible; comatose; unconscious.
3. Sluggish; lethargic; heavy.
4. Exhausted; weary; worn out.
5. Not yet fully awake; [fig.] dawning; just arising; early morning.

sleet, n. [possibly OE slét.] (webplay: snow).

1. Freezing rain; mixture of snow, hail and rain; [fig.] winter; [metaphor] hardship; roughness of life.
2. Frosty weather; hard freeze; cold front; winter storm; [fig.] death; suspension of life.

sleeve, n. [OE 'band of wood, leather, or metal'.] (webplay: hands).

Arm; sheathe; close-fitting protective cover; [fig.] stem; leaf blade; set of leaves.

sleigh, adj. [see sled, n.]

Sled; drag; sledge; sleigh; vehicle with runners for travel over ice and snow.