\Slough\, a.
Slow. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

\Slough\, n. [OE. slogh, slough, AS. sl[=o]h a hollow
place; cf. MHG. sl[=u]ch an abyss, gullet, G. schlucken to
swallow; also Gael. & Ir. sloc a pit, pool. ditch, Ir. slug
to swallow. Gr. ????? to hiccough, to sob.]
1. A place of deep mud or mire; a hole full of mire.
   --Chaucer.
         He's here stuck in a slough.          --Milton.
2. [Pronounced sl[=oo].] A wet place; a swale; a side channel
   or inlet from a river.
Note: [In this sense local or provincial; also spelt {sloo},
      and {slue}.]
{Slough grass} (Bot.), a name in the Mississippi valley for
   grasses of the genus {Muhlenbergia}; -- called also {drop
   seed}, and {nimble Will}.

\Slough\, obs.
imp. of {Slee}, to slay. Slew. --Chaucer.

\Slough\, n. [OE. slugh, slouh; cf. MHG. sl?ch the skin
of a serpent, G. schlauch a skin, a leather bag or bottle.]
1. The skin, commonly the cast-off skin, of a serpent or of
   some similar animal.
2. (Med.) The dead mass separating from a foul sore; the dead
   part which separates from the living tissue in
   mortification.

\Slough\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sloughed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Sloughing}.] (Med.)
To form a slough; to separate in the form of dead matter from
the living tissues; -- often used with off, or away; as, a
sloughing ulcer; the dead tissues slough off slowly.

\Slough\, v. t.
To cast off; to discard as refuse.
      New tint the plumage of the birds, And slough decay
      from grazing herds.                      --Emerson.