2006-08-14 01:44:12 · 6 answers · asked by ferarevalo 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It is indeed the past participle of "slay" (although I don't think that makes it not a verb).
I have mostly heard it used in comedy--a comedian is said to "kill" if he/she makes everyone laugh a lot. "To slay" is, if anything, to get an even better response.
It could also be used for a particularly grisly murder--I would think multiple stab wounds, or something old-fashioned like a bow-and-arrow. A woman in Ottawa (Canada) was killed by her (maybe ex) husband with a crossbow several years ago--it seems to me she may have been reported as "slain".
2006-08-14 02:12:44 · answer #1 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The verb "to slay" is not used in everyday English any more, but the noun from it used to appear in sensationalist journalese in a particular cliche, "gangland slayings", referring to gangsters murdering each other.
As another answerer says, you might still hear someone say they were "slain" by a very funny joke.
2006-08-14 14:18:24 · answer #2 · answered by Dramafreak 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's the past participle of the verb "slay," meaning "to kill in a violent manner" (by the way "slayed" is not a word). It's not the most common way of saying this...most people use words like "murder" or "slaughter," but it is by no means a dead word in modern English. Today it seems to be more commonly used in written English rather than spoken English.
2006-08-14 09:17:20 · answer #3 · answered by bamalik43 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no verb 'slain' . It is a participle of the verb 'to slay' meaning to kill, and is rarely used in modern day to day English.
2006-08-14 08:51:15 · answer #4 · answered by eriverpipe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. Rarely, unless you watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But I believe the word is from Old English "slean".
2. You should use the word when you want to. There is no official authority to say how folk must use a word; such "authority" merely comes from observing and recording what is customary usage. So you should feel free to express yourself with English words however you want.
3. Be aware that Oxford University banned English from the city in 1325, in favour of Latin and French. So you may wish to bear that fact in mind when consulting any of their publications.
2006-08-14 12:10:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no its not used anylonger people would rather say" i butchered him "instead of "i slain him"
2006-08-14 09:49:11 · answer #6 · answered by sliver 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋