1. Little or
narrow in proportion to the
length or the height; not fat; slim; as, a
slender stem or
stalk of a plant. "A slender,
choleric man." "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
many from
slender premises." (J. H. Newman) "The
slender utterance of the consonants." (J. Byrne)
3. Temperate; 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. Little; 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. Uttered with a
thin tone; the
opposite of broad; as, the
slender vowels
long e and i. Slen"derly, Slen"derness.
Origin: OE. Slendre, sclendre, fr. OD. Slinder thin, slender, probably
through a French form; cf. OD. Slinderen, slidderen, to creep; perh. Akin to E. Slide.
Source: Websters Vocabulary