slops

English

Etymology 1

Noun

slops pl (plural only)

1. (obsolete) Loose trousers.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Chrysippus said that some Philosophers would in open view of all men shew a dozen of tumbling-tricks, yea, without any slops or breeches, for a dozen of olives.

   • a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the page number)”, in Fulke Greville, Matthew Gwinne, and John Florio, editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC; republished in Albert Feuillerat, editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (Cambridge English Classics: The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1912, →OCLC:

     A pair of slops.

2. (nautical, historical) Sailors’ breeches ending just below the knees or above the ankles, worn mainly in XVIII century.

   Synonym: open-kneed breeches

   • 2012, Philip Haythornthwaite, Nelson's navy, page 26:

     The original "slops" were voluminous breeches of about knee length, reminiscent of 17th century "petticoat breeches", worn with stockings; these continue to be depicted as late as 1790s, but trousers, first introduced as slop-clothing in 1720s, were more functional and more popular.

3. (nautical, dated) Clothing and bedding issued to sailors.
4. (South Africa) plural of slop (“rubber thong sandals”)

Synonyms

• (an item of footwear): see list in flip-flop

Etymology 2

Noun

slops

1. plural of slop (“scraps fed to animals; household wastewater”)

   I don't mind slopping the hogs, but I don't like the stench of the slops.

Verb

slops

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of slop