Why did astronomy adopt the word 'slew'

[matthasboldlygone]

Looked it up in the dictionary ... doesn't sound like the way I treat my scope 😂

1.turn or slide violently or uncontrollably.

"the Renault slewed from side to side in the snow"

2.(of an electronic device) undergo slewing.

noun: slew; plural noun: slews; noun: slue; plural noun: slues

a violent or uncontrollable sliding movement.

"I was assaulted by the thump and slew of the van"

[johninderby]

Slew can also mean a large amount or number so perhaps moving the scope a large amount could be the reason slew is used.

[tooth_dr]

It also means to 'turn about an axis'

[Moonshane]

South Locked East West 😂

[philj]

If you ever experienced a Celestron CGE mk1 going daft due to mount lead or microswitch problems then the dictionary definition is very apt 🙂

[andrew s]

Merriam Webster has "to turn something about a fixed point that is usually an axis". 

May be originally nautical as they give a ships spar as well as a telescope  as examples.

Regards Andrew 

[Jiggy 67]

1 hour ago, matthasboldlygone said:

Looked it up in the dictionary ... doesn't sound like the way I treat my scope 😂

1.turn or slide violently or uncontrollably.

"the Renault slewed from side to side in the snow"

2.(of an electronic device) undergo slewing.

noun: slew; plural noun: slews; noun: slue; plural noun: slues

a violent or uncontrollable sliding movement.

"I was assaulted by the thump and slew of the van"

Sounds pretty accurate to my methods after a bottle of wine!! 🤪..........I mean at the scope.......not in a van!!

Edited July 14, 2020 by Jiggy 67

[Louis D]

In digital design, slew rate is the speed at which a device transitions from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0.  There's no pivoting involved at all, so explain that one. 

[barkis]

Just hope any slew speed glitches don't qualify your
mount for Centrifuge duty at Nasa. 😬
Ron.

[Louis D]

31 minutes ago, barkis said:

Just hope any slew speed glitches don't qualify your
mount for Centrifuge duty at Nasa. 😬
Ron.

Like this?

 

[andrew s]

The shorter OED has 1769 "To turn (a thing) round upon it's own axis, or without shifting it from its place; also loosely to swing round." 

It does not give an origin for the word .

Given this it fits rather well.

Regards  Andrew 

[George Jones]

As expected the (tremendously!) helpful folks here at SGL have posted a slew of reasons.

 

4 hours ago, johninderby said:

Slew can also mean a large amount or number

 

[matthasboldlygone]

Some good replies, it does appear to come from ye olde English and that definition has been dropped over time.  👍

[johninderby]

Ye olde Gaelic actually

”The noun slew, for instance, is from the Irish Gaelic sluagh, meaning "multitude." As an unrelated verb, it's the past tense of slay.”

[JamesF]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

”The noun slew, for instance, is from the Irish Gaelic sluagh, meaning "multitude."

I believe it's sometimes used in this sense in American English.

James

[johninderby]

Another dictionary definition, this time more appropriate. 😁

Definition of slew 

transitive verb

1: to turn (something, such as a telescope or a ship's spar) about a fixed point that is usually the axis

 

[John]

39 minutes ago, johninderby said:

...... As an unrelated verb, it's the past tense of slay.”

As in "She slew him when she found out how much his eyepieces had cost"

[Moonshane]

Back to mounts, I think that I'd keep away from a runaround slew.

[johninderby]

5 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

Back to mounts, I think that I'd keep away from a runaround slew.

I managed to resist posting a music vid........just. 😁😁😁

[tooth_dr]

 

11 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

It also means to 'turn about an axis'

 

10 hours ago, andrew s said:

Merriam Webster has "to turn something about a fixed point that is usually an axis". 

 

 

Just saying 😂😂

Edited July 14, 2020 by tooth_dr

[matthasboldlygone]

1 hour ago, tooth_dr said:

 

 

 

 

Just saying 😂😂

Thank you

[tooth_dr]

9 hours ago, matthasboldlygone said:

Thank you

Lol this was not aimed at you at all, it was very specifically about the post linked 

Edited July 15, 2020 by tooth_dr

[Tenor Viol]

I strongly suspect astronomers have picked up a nautical usage - I wouldn't be surprised if it's related to gunnery as well. 

[Mr Spock]

Nautical: to cause (a mast) to rotate in its step or (of a mast) to rotate in its step.

[Louis D]

Not to mention it rhymes with slough in American pronunciation meaning a swampy drainage or marsh.  We had one on our acreage that never dried out.  Anything with wheels would get stuck in it when trying to traverse it.  When I first heard about slew rate in electronics, I was mystified as to why you would use the same word for something totally unrelated.  I had no idea at the time that the swampy usage wasn't spelled slew since that's the most obvious way to spell it, just like threw, brew, or shrew.