Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sloyd \Sloyd\, n. [Written also {slojd}, and {sloid}.] [Sw.
   sl["o]jd skill, dexterity, esp. skilled labor, hence,
   manufacture, wood carving.]
   Lit., skilled mechanical work, such as that required in wood
   carving; trade work; hence, a system (usually called the
   sloyd system) of manual training in the practical use of the
   tools and materials used in the trades, and of instruction in
   the making and use of the plans and specifications connected
   with trade work. The sloyd system derives its name from the
   fact that it was adopted or largely developed from a similar
   Swedish system, in which wood carving was a chief feature.
   Its purpose is not only to afford practical skill in some
   trade, but also to develop the pupils mentally and
   physically.