Slenderer

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

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