the.com/slate
the rock that taught humans to write, then watched us erase it all
means A fine-grained gray rock that splits into flat sheets, historically used for roofing, writing tablets, and chalkboards — and, by extension, a list of candidates or scheduled items waiting to be approved.
from From Old French 'esclate,' a feminine form of 'esclat' meaning a splinter or fragment broken off — the same root that gives us 'slat.' The name fits the stone perfectly: slate is defined by how it cleaves into thin, splintered sheets. The political and scheduling sense ('a slate of candidates,' 'wipe the slate clean') comes from the slate writing-tablets once used to jot temporary lists, easily erased and started over.
- origin
- Mud and clay crushed underground for millions of years
- splits clean
- Cleaves into perfect flat sheets along hidden planes
- old classroom
- Children once wrote on slate, wiped, repeated endlessly
- roof champion
- Quality slate roofs can last over 100 years
- political ballots
- A 'slate' of candidates borrows the rock's name
slate belt pennsylvania — region in eastern pennsylvania that produced roofing slate for over 200 years, centered around bangor and pen argyl
slate magazine — daily news and culture website founded in 1996 by microsoft
slate river vermont — river in rutland county vermont known for its slate deposits and quarrying history