slater
nounUS /ˈsleɪtɚ/ · UK /ˈsleɪtə/
Etymology From Middle English sclater, equivalent to slate + -er.
1
One who lays slates, or whose occupation is to slate buildings.
2
Australia, New Zealand, Scotland Any terrestrial isopod crustacean of the genus Porcellio and allied genera; a woodlouse.
3
A harsh critic; one who slates or denigrates something.
- Plain speaking, now and then, is very necessary. The author will call the critic a “blackguard slater," of course, but he need not be a blackguard. Ferocity of language only hurts his effect.1901, The Critic, volume 39, page 562:
- Derived terms
- sea slater
- Related terms
- butcher boy, sowbug, woodlouse, roly-poly, sai bug, saisai gnat