In 19th century U.S. English, sleuthhound became an epithet for a detective and was soon shortened to sleuth. From there, it was only a short leap to turning sleuth into a verb describing what a sleuth does.
Is sleuthing a real word?
When you seek clues, you sleuth. You, sleuth, you! The word sleuth comes from the Old Norse sloth, meaning "trail" and sleuthing is following a trail. One type of bloodhound skilled at following trails is called a sleuthhound, and that word was shortened to sleuth in the late 19th Century, referring to an investigator.
How do you use sleuthing in a sentence?
Sleuthing sentence example
- It's not like I'm an amateur at this sleuthing business. ...
- Sleuthing mostly, but it didn't take me long to realize that most people give a lot away if you listen and observe profoundly. ...
- However, they do exist and a bit of sleuthing will uncover them.
