Other forms: slings, slinging
A sling is a cloth loop that supports an injured arm. Arm in a sling, wear a sling, put it in a sling.
It holds the arm still and takes the weight off the shoulder, and it is worn for weeks rather than days. A sling is also a strap for carrying something — a rifle sling, a baby sling — and the ancient weapon for throwing stones, which is what David used. As a verb, to sling is to throw carelessly: sling it in the bin. Note slingshot, and mud-slinging.
1nounslingA cloth loop that supports an injured arm.
“After breaking his wrist, he had to wear his arm in a sling for a month.”
2verbthrowTo throw carelessly.
“Just sling your coat on the chair and make yourself at home.”
sling is a supporting loop or throwing action.
Old Norse slyngja meant to throw, from a Germanic root about twisting. The weapon is named from the throwing, and the medical sling from the loop of cloth that holds rather than hurls.
Proto-Germanic
*slingwaną — to worm, twist
Old Norse
slyngja
Middle English
slynge
English, today
sling
Built from
From Middle English slynge, slyngen, probably from Old Norse slyngja, slyngva (“to hurl”), from Proto-Germanic slingwaną (“to worm, twist”) or compare Old English slingan (“to wind, twist”), from the same source. Compare German schlingen (“to swing, wind, twist”), Danish and Norwegian slynge), from Proto-Indo-European slenk- (“to turn, twist”) (compare Welsh llyngyr (“worms, maggots”), Lithuanian sliñkti (“to crawl like a snake”), Latvian slìkt (“to sink”)).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Body & Health