SLAY, pret. slew pp. slain. The proper sense is to strike, and as beating was an early mode of killing, this word, like smite, came to signify to kill. It seems to be formed on the root of lay as we say to lay on.

1. To kill to put to death by a weapon or by violence. We say, he slew a man with a sword, with a stone, or with a club, or with other arms but we never say, the serif slays a malefactor with a halter, or a man is slain on the gallows or by poison. So the slay retains something of its primitive sense of striking or beating. It is particularly applied to killing in battle, but is properly applied also to the killing of a individual man or beast.

2. To destroy.

Copyright Statement
Dictionary of Words from the King James Bible. Public Domain. Copy freely.
Material presented was supplied by Brandon Staggs and was derived from the KJV Dictionary found on his website located at av1611.com.
The unabridged 1828 version of this dictionary in the SwordSearcher Bible Software.

Bibliography Information
Entry for 'Slay'. King James Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/kjd/s/slay.html.

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