slate

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
slate/sleɪt/

▶noun

• 1 a fine-grained grey, green, or bluish-purple metamorphic rock easily split into smooth, flat plates.

  ■ a flat plate of slate used as roofing material.

• 2 a plate of slate formerly used in schools for writing on.

• 3 a bluish-grey colour.

• 4 a list of candidates for election to a post or office.

  ■ Brit. a record of a person's debt or credit: put it on the slate.

  ■ chiefly N. Amer. a range of something on offer.

• 5 a board showing the identifying details of a take of a film, held in front of the camera at the beginning and end of the take.

▶verb

• 1 cover (a roof) with slates.

• 2 Brit. informal criticize severely.

• 3 chiefly N. Amer. schedule; plan.

  ■ nominate as a candidate for an office or post.

– derivatives
slaty adjective.

– origin ME sclate, sklate, shortening of OFr. esclate, fem. synonymous with esclat (see slat).