slem

See also: sləm, șlem, and šlem

Danish

Etymology

Compare German schlimm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈslɛmˀ]
• Rhymes: -ɜm

Adjective

slem (neuter slemt, plural and definite singular attributive slemme, comparative slemmere, superlative (predicative) slemmest, superlative (attributive) slemmeste)

1. bad, ill-behaved, mean
2. serious in a bad way, grievous

   et slemt sår

   a grievous wound

   • 2015, Alison Roberts, Lilian Darcy, En anden chance/Længslen efter et barn, Förlaget Harlequin AB, →ISBN:

     Ikke kønt, men det kan have reddet hende fra et slemt hovedtraume eller indre blødninger.

     Not pretty, but it may have saved her from a serious head trauma or internal bleeding.

   • 2012, Michael Morpurgo, War Horse, Art People, →ISBN, page 16:

     Det er alligevel et slemt sår, en dyb flænge - ser ud som pigtråd.

     It is, nonetheless, a grievous wound, a deep gash - it looks like barbed wire.

   • 2016, Robert Hilburn, Johnny Cash - et liv, Klim, →ISBN:

     Ved slutningen af den koreanske etape blev han ramt af et slemt tilfælde af strubehovedbetændelse og måtte selv tilbringe tid på hospitalet, inden han fortsatte til Japan og de resterende shows.

     At the end of the Korean part of the tour, he was afflicted with a serious case of laryngeal inflammation and had to spend time in the hospital, before continuing on to Japan and the remaining shows.

   • 2012, Anna Grue, Et spørgsmål om penge, Politikens Forlag, →ISBN:

     “Det må have været et slemt chok for ham, at der var nogen på første sal, da han hentede kedeldragten.”

     It must have a strong shock for him that there was someone on the first floor [immediately above the ground floor] when he retrieved the boiler suit.

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃlem/

Adjective

slem (neuter singular slemt, definite singular and plural slemme)

1. mean, bad
2. naughty

References

• “slem” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish slēmber, from Old Norse slím (“slime”), from Proto-Germanic *slīmą. Cognate of English slime.

Noun

slem n

1. slime
   1. mucus

Declension

Declension of slem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	slem	slems
	definite	slemmet	slemmets
plural	indefinite	slem	slems
	definite	slemmen	slemmens

Derived terms

• slemhelge

Related terms

• slemmig

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish slember, from Middle Low German slim, from Proto-Germanic *slimbaz. Related to German schlimm (“bad”).

Adjective

slem (comparative slemmare, superlative slemmast)

1. (dated) lousy, bad, unpleasant

Declension

Inflection of slem

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	slem	slemmare	slemmast
neuter singular	slemt	slemmare	slemmast
plural	slemma	slemmare	slemmast
masculine plural2	slemme	slemmare	slemmast
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	slemme	slemmare	slemmaste
all	slemma	slemmare	slemmaste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

References

• slem in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• slem in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• slem in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Svensk MeSH
• slem in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Anagrams

• lems