- The word slay originates from the Old English word slean which meant ‘to smite, strike, beat.’ In the late ninth century, slay shifted to mean ‘to kill with a weapon.’ Based off of this meaning of slay, it is currently used to describe someone who “killed it,” a term that arose in the 1980s and gained prominence around 2010, by doing or performing something impressively. If a person killed it in that outfit, it means that they looked very impressive or good-looking, and it can be said that their outfit slayed. http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.rice.edu/view/Entry/103361?rskey=K6T8Lb&result=5&isAdvanced=false#eid
slay
verb; other word formation type none; sematic change of an Old English word
to succeed in doing something; to do a task extremely well
Etymology : This term is not exactly a new word and therefore has no word formation type, but it is instead a semantic change for the Old English word slean meaning ‘to smite, strike, beat’ that later meant ‘to kill with a weapon, slaughter.’
Source : "15 Times Lady Gaga’s Outfits Slayed on ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’” – Buzzfeed (Nov 11, 2015)
Last modified: 13 December 2015