sleek(adj.)
"光滑、有光泽、柔软"(指身体部位、头发、皮肤等),始见于1580年代,是中古英语 slike 的变体,意为"光滑、柔软"(参见 slick(形容词))。最初用于形容健康的动物毛发(莎士比亚形容戴着驴头的半人马的毛发); 1630年代开始用于人,意为"丰满、皮肤光滑"。引申意义上,用于人或个性,表示"油腔滑调、阿谀奉承",始见于1590年代。
The form slick is related to sleek much as crick (n.2) is related to creek (n.), but is in fact the more orig. form, until recently in good literary use, and still common in colloquial use (the word being often so pronounced even though spelled sleek), but now regarded by many as somewhat provincial ... [Century Dictionary, 1895]
形式 slick 与 sleek 的关系,类似于 crick (名词2)与 creek (名词)的关系,但实际上是更原始的形式,直到最近在文学上仍有良好的使用,仍然在口语中常见(即使单词拼写为 sleek,该词经常被这样发音),但现在被许多人认为有些乡土……[世纪词典,1895年]
该词起源时间:1580年代