In a slanting or diagonal direction; tilted to one side rather than straight up and down.
From the prefix 'a-' (on, in) combined with 'slant,' which comes from Old Norse 'slenta' meaning to slip or slide. The 'a-' prefix was commonly used in Middle English to form adverbs of manner or position.
This word is a perfect example of how English loves adding the prefix 'a-' to create adverbs—'aslant,' 'ablaze,' 'afoot'—it's like a grammatical habit that was super common 500 years ago but we've mostly abandoned it now.
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