- Slenderness
- Slender Slen"der, a. [Compar. {Slenderer}; superl.
{Slenderest}.] [OE. slendre, sclendre, fr. OD. slinder thin,
slender, perhaps through a French form; cf. OD. slinderen,
slidderen, to creep; perh. akin to E. slide.]
1. Small or narrow in proportion to the length or the height;
not thick; slim; as, a slender stem or stalk of a plant.
``A slender, choleric man.'' --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
She, as a veil down to the slender waist, Her unadorned golden tresses wore. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
2. Weak; feeble; not strong; slight; as, slender hope; a slender constitution. [1913 Webster]
Mighty hearts are held in slender chains. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
They have inferred much from slender premises. --J. H. Newman. [1913 Webster]
The slender utterance of the consonants. --J. Byrne. [1913 Webster]
3. Moderate; trivial; inconsiderable; slight; as, a man of slender intelligence. [1913 Webster]
A slender degree of patience will enable him to enjoy both the humor and the pathos. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
4. Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of support; a slender pittance. [1913 Webster]
Frequent begging makes slender alms. --Fuller. [1913 Webster]
5. Spare; abstemious; frugal; as, a slender diet. [1913 Webster]
The good Ostorius often deigned To grace my slender table with his presence. --Philips. [1913 Webster]
6. (Phon.) Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i. [1913 Webster] -- {Slen"der*ly}, adv. -- {Slen"der*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
