Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A polished, striated rock surface caused by one rock mass sliding over another in a fault plane.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun geology A smooth, striated rock surface caused by the friction of one mass sliding over another

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Dialectal slicken, glossy (alteration of slick) + side.]

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Examples

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Comments

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  • (pronounced SLIK-uhn-sahyd) A rock surface that has become more or less polished and striated by slippage along a fault plane.

    August 1, 2007

  • Sounds like if you tried to walk on it, it would be a slip 'n slide!

    August 1, 2007

  • Indeed! The etymology I read suggested just that derivation.

    August 1, 2007