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.
She, as a veil down to
the slender waist,
Her unadorned golden tresses wore.
Milton.
2. Weak; feeble; not strong; slight; as, slender hope; a slender constitution.
Mighty hearts are held in slender chains.
Pope. They
have inferred much from slender
premises.
J. H.
Newman. The slender utterance of the consonants.
J. Byrne. 3. Moderate; trivial; inconsiderable; slight; as, a
man of slender intelligence.
A slender degree of patience will enable him to
enjoy both the humor and
the pathos.
Sir W. Scott.
4. Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of support; a slender pittance.
Frequent begging makes slender alms.
Fuller. 5. Spare; abstemious; frugal; as, a
slender diet.
The
good Ostorius often
deigned
To grace my slender table with his presence.
Philips. 6. (Phon.) Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i.
--
Slen"der*ly, adv. --
Slen"der*ness, n.
Hear it pronounced