slantwise

English

Etymology

slant + -wise

Adjective

slantwise (not comparable)

  1. diagonal, in a direction or orientation between cardinal axes
    • 1858, John Greenleaf Whittier, "Telling the Bees" in The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Vol. I, Narrative and Legendary Poems,
      I can see it all now,—the slantwise rain / Of light through the leaves, / The sundown's blaze on her window-pane, / The bloom of her roses under the eaves.

Adverb

slantwise (comparative more slantwise, superlative most slantwise)

  1. diagonally, in a direction or orientation between cardinal axes
    • 1924, Herman Melville, chapter 8, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:
      [] he had received a cut slantwise along one temple and cheek, leaving a long scar like a streak of dawn's light falling athwart the dark visage.
    • 1970, Larry Niven, Ringworld, page 113:
      Slantwise, a salamander-shaped sea came at them, growing.
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