slew

The word 'slew' presents a fascinating case of convergent evolution from two distinct sources. The verb meaning "to turn or slide" originated in the mid-18th century, likely as a variant of 'slue', whose own origins are obscure but may be connected to the turning motion implied in Old English words. The violent meaning "to kill" emerged in American English around the same period, representing a specific phonetic spelling of the Irish Gaelic word 'sluagh', meaning "host" or "multitude", which conceptually extended to the act of slaying a host. Finally, the noun meaning "a large number" derives directly from the same Irish Gaelic 'sluagh', entering English in the 19th century. Thus, the identical modern spelling 'slew' encapsulates three separate semantic journeys: an obscure mechanical turn, a borrowed term for massacre, and a loanword for a multitude.

This word is a simplex form. Its core spelling and sound unit, 'slew', functions as a whole to carry its distinct meanings.