sliver

sliver

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Pronunciation

The IPA phonetic spelling for "sliver" is /ˈslɪvər/.

Here's a breakdown of the sounds by syllable:

• sliv: /slɪv/

• /s/ - voiceless alveolar fricative

• /l/ - alveolar lateral approximant

• /ɪ/ - near-close near-front unrounded vowel

• /v/ - voiced labiodental fricative

• er: /ər/

• /ər/ - r-colored vowel (or, in some dialects, a schwa followed by an /r/ sound).

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Word Form Variations

• sliver (singular noun): A thin, narrow piece of something, typically wood, that has been split or broken off. Example: A sliver of wood.

• slivers (plural noun): More than one sliver. Example: Several slivers of glass.

• slivered (past tense/past participle verb, and adjective): Describing the action of splitting something into slivers, or something that has been split into slivers. Example (verb): He slivered the wood. Example (adjective): Slivered almonds.

• slivering (present participle/gerund verb): The action of splitting something into slivers. Example: The constant slivering of the wood was tiring.

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Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Noun:

• Definition 1: A thin, narrow, and often sharp piece of a material that has been split, broken, or splintered off. Often implies a small or fragmented piece.

• Synonyms: splinter, shard, fragment, shaving, sliver of wood, sliver of glass, splinter of metal

• Antonyms: whole, piece, chunk, block, slab

• Definition 2: (Figurative) A small, fleeting, or insubstantial amount or piece of something.

• Synonyms: trace, hint, glimmer, shred, iota, particle

• Antonyms: abundance, wealth, mass, quantity, entirety

Verb:

• Definition: To split, break, or cut something into thin, narrow pieces.

• Synonyms: splinter, shard, fragment, shave, chip, cleave

• Antonyms: unite, combine, join, assemble, fuse

Adjective:

• Definition: Describing something that has been cut or broken into thin, narrow pieces. Often used to describe food preparation.

• Synonyms: splintered, fragmented, shaved, chipped

• Antonyms: whole, intact, complete, unbroken

Example Usage incorporating the above:

• Noun (Definition 1): "He removed a sliver of glass from his foot."

• Noun (Definition 2): "She had only a sliver of hope left."

• Verb: "The chef slivered the almonds for the garnish."

• Adjective: "The salad was topped with slivered carrots."

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Examples of Use

Literature:

• "He picked up a sliver of wood and began to whittle it." (This is a hypothetical example, but reflects common usage in fiction.)

• "A sliver of moonlight peeked through the curtains." (Again, a hypothetical example demonstrating figurative use.)

Newspapers/Online Publications:

• "Investigators found a sliver of evidence linking the suspect to the crime." (Hypothetical news report example)

• "The tech company's stock price rose by a sliver of a percent." (Hypothetical financial news example)

Entertainment/Platforms:

• "The character carefully removed a sliver of glass from their hand in the movie." (Hypothetical movie scene description)

• "Recipe: Garnish with slivered almonds." (Common instruction in online recipes and cooking shows)

• "Watch as we sliver these vegetables with precision!" (Hypothetical cooking show host's line)

General Public Discourse:

• "I got a sliver in my finger." (Common everyday conversation)

• "Could you pass me that sliver of cheese?" (Common everyday conversation)

• "There's a sliver of hope that things will improve." (Common everyday conversation - figurative use)

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10 Famous Quotes Using Sliver

1. "Every cloud has a silver lining." — John Milton

2. "Speech is silver, silence is golden." — Thomas Carlyle

3. "She speaks with a silver tongue, but a leaden heart."— Anonymous

4. "The silver spoon doesn’t always bring golden happiness."— Anonymous

5. "Gray hair is a crown of silver, earned by a life well lived." — Proverb

6. "Silver and gold are not the only measures of wealth."— Seneca

7. "He chased silver dreams, forgetting the gold he already held."— Anonymous

8. "The moonlight lay across the sea like a path of silver."— Virginia Woolf

9. "You can't polish a lie until it shines like silver." — Anonymous

10. "The mind, like silver, needs constant polishing to shine." — Anonymous

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Etymology

The word "sliver" has an interesting, if somewhat murky, history. It likely comes from the Middle Dutch word "sliver," which meant a splinter or fragment. Think of something thin and broken off, like a piece of wood.

This Dutch word probably made its way into English sometime in the late Middle Ages or early modern period (roughly the 14th to 16th centuries). The first recorded uses of "sliver" in English were indeed to describe small, thin pieces, especially of wood, that had been split or broken off.

So, the core idea behind the word has remained pretty consistent over time. It's always referred to something small, thin, and often sharp, that's been separated from a larger piece. While we might use it for different materials now (like slivers of glass or metal), the original image of a splintered piece of wood is still at the heart of the word's meaning.

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Phrases + Idioms Containing Sliver

It's tricky to find established idioms using "sliver." "Sliver" tends to be used more literally and descriptively. Idioms often rely on figurative language that's been used and repeated so much it takes on a meaning beyond the literal words. "Sliver" doesn't often lend itself to that kind of figurative extension.

Here's a breakdown of what we can find and why it's limited:

Phrases (not idioms, but common collocations):

• Sliver of wood/glass/metal/etc.: These are very common, simply describing a thin piece of the material. They aren't idioms, just standard noun phrases.

• Sliver of hope/light/moonlight: These are common figurative uses, where "sliver" represents a small amount. While common, they aren't quite idioms either, as the meaning is still pretty transparent.

Why no real idioms?

The problem is that "sliver" is very specific in its meaning. It's hard to stretch it metaphorically in the way idioms require. Think about idioms like "piece of cake" or "bite the bullet." They use ordinary words in unexpected ways to create new meanings. "Sliver" just doesn't have that kind of flexibility.

Near misses/workarounds:

We can create phrases that sound a bit like idioms, but are really just extended metaphors:

• "A sliver of truth in a sea of lies." (This is evocative, but not a recognized idiom.)

• "Clinging to a sliver of sanity." (Again, figurative, but not a set phrase.)

Using synonyms in idioms:

We can find idioms that capture the idea of a small piece or fragment, even if they don't use "sliver" itself:

• "A shred of evidence"

• "A glimmer of hope"

• "A trace of a smile"

These use words similar in meaning to "sliver" and do appear in established idioms. This shows that the concept of a small piece is idiom-friendly, but "sliver" itself isn't a word that has made it into common idiomatic expressions.

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Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

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Source Information

Definition of sliver from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

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