slaying

The verb 'slay' has a deep Germanic lineage, tracing back to the Proto-Germanic verb meaning to strike. Its core violent sense of killing, especially in battle, has persisted through Old and Middle English into modern usage. The addition of the nominal suffix '-ing' creates a word that denotes the action or instance of killing. In contemporary informal slang, influenced by African-American Vernacular English, 'slaying' underwent semantic broadening, applying the metaphor of decisively overcoming or excelling to contexts of fashion, performance, or success, thus carrying both a literal and a figurative, celebratory meaning.

Structure: slay (to kill) + ing (noun-forming suffix) 'Slay' originates from Old English 'slēan' (to strike, kill), from Proto-Germanic 'slahaną'. The suffix '-ing' is from Old English '-ung' or '-ing', forming verbal nouns.