Slut or slattern is a pejorative term for a person who is deemed sexually promiscuous. The term is generally applied to women and used as an insult or offensive term of disparagement, meaning "dirty or slovenly." It may also be used as an expression of pride in one's status, or to express envy at the sexual successes of others.

Etymology

Although the ultimate origin of slut is unknown, it first appeared in Middle English in 1402 as slutte (AHD), with the meaning "a dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman." Even earlier, Geoffrey Chaucer used the word sluttish (c.1386) to describe a slovenly man; however, later uses appear almost exclusively associated with women. The modern sense of "a sexually promiscuous woman" dates to at least 1450.

Another early meaning was "kitchen maid or drudge" (c. 1450), a meaning retained as late as the 18th century, when hard knots of dough found in bread were referred to as "slut's pennies." A notable example of this use is Samuel Pepys's diary description of his servant girl as "an admirable slut" who "pleases us mightily, doing more service than both the others and deserves wages better" (February 1664). In the 19th century, the word was used as a euphemism in place of bitch in the sense of "a female dog."A Dictionary of English Synonymes and Synonymous Or Parallel Expressions By Richard Soule - 1891

Similar words appear in Dutch, German and Swedish dialects meaning "a dirty woman," indicating a common ancestor in Germanic languages. The word entered the colloquial Yidish as "akhsluttishkha" meaning "a hag". It exists in Ukrainian too as slutyj as a loan word from Yidish or via the mediaeval Scandinavian Varangian colonists in Kievan Rus'. A popular theory connects slut to earlier Germanic forms meaning "slush" or "mud puddle," but this derivation remains in question.

Common usages

The accepted denotative meaning is a sexually promiscuous woman or "a woman of a low or loose character; a bold or impudent girl; a hussy, jade." These definitions identify a slut as a person of low character — a person who lacks the ability or chooses not to exercise a power of discernment to order their affairs, such as a cad, rake, or womanizer. The adjective "slutty" carries a similar connotation but can be applied both to people and to clothing and accessories, such as Halloween costumes.

The term slut is therefore frequently used as an insult. The derogatory power of the term derives both from its denotative meaning of a promiscuous woman, but also from its historical and regional connotations or alternate meanings that identify a slut as a dirty or unkempt person. These additional meanings and connotations are negative and identify a slut as being a slovenly and ugly person, for example as in these quotations from OED2: