▪ I. slender, a. (and adv.)
(ˈslɛndə(r))
Forms: α. 4–6 slendre, 5– slender (5 -yr, 6 -ar, slindir). β. 4, 6 sclendre, 5–7 sclender; 5 sklendire, 5–6 -re, 6 -ir, -ur, 5–6, 9 dial., sklender; 6 scl-, sklinder.
[Of obscure origin.
An AF. source appears the most probable, but Palsgrave (1530) seems to be the only evidence for a F. esclendre. Kilian's ‘Slinder, vet. Tenuis, exilis’ is not otherwise known, and his citation of ‘Ang. slender’ makes the entry of doubtful value.]
I. 1. Of persons (or animals), their bodies, etc.: Not stout or fleshy; slim, spare. (Freq. implying gracefulness of form, esp. in later use.)
| α 13.. Coer de L. 3530 He is fat, and thertoo tendre, And my men are lene and slendre. 1402 Hoccleve Letter of Cupid 171 Wheither his shap be outher thikke or slender. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. iv. x. 95 Colerik men be generally in the body longe and slendre. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 34 Kyng Henry was of a stature goodly, of body slender. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 350 Females vsually in euery kind haue lesse & slenderer feet than males. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 132 You rub and grate your Back against the aforesaid Stone, unless you be a very slender Man. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 389 Having the body longer and more slender, the nose smaller. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Obs. 210 A German..of a sickly aspect and slender make. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxxiii. 300 She's slender; but these yer slender gals will bear half killin' to get their own way! 1871 Figure Training 46 That most elegant female charm, a slender waist. |
| β c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 587 The Reue was a sclendre colerik man. c 1400 Mandeville 291 Thei han a blak Hed..and the Body is sclender. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 227 Her flessh whitter than snowe, and was not to fatte ne to sklender. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxx. (Percy Soc.) 146 Her armes sclender and of goodly body. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 152 Though thys body be weke, sklendur, and lakkyth natural strenghth. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Digitus, Exiles digiti, sclender [fingers]. |
b. Denoting weakness or absence of robustness.
† Also
transf. of age, etc.: Tender, immature.
| a 1500 Abraham 126 in Brome Bk. 54 To folow ȝow I am full fayn, All thow I be slendyr. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. John 44 So much the more diligently you preache him to them that be of slenderer age. 1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell i. xxvii. 50 Concerning his First Book..are these Two Things Remarkable,..First at what a Slender Age..it was written. 1798 M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) II. 7 His nerves are excitable, and constitution rather slender. 1848 Webster Lett. (1902) 604 Not that we suppose Julia is very sick, but she is slender. |
2. Of things: Small in diameter or width in proportion to length; long and thin; attenuated.
| α a 1513 Fabyan Chron. v. lxxxiii. (1811) 60 Hengyste..caused the sayd beests skyn to be cut into a small and slender thonge. 1590 Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Rtldg.) 95/1 Seek not..To..slice the slender fillets of my life. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 245 About the bottome of the bay, where the City is slender, and free from concourse of people. 1673 [R. Leigh] Transp. Reh. 126, J being the tallest slendrest letter of the alphabet. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Archit. I. 69 Roundness makes it appear slenderer than it really is. 1788 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 190 The slender line, nearly four miles long, which your army must make. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xxvi, The lighter pine-trees, over-head, Their slender length for rafters spread. 1876 Smiles Sc. Natur. iv. (ed. 4) 69 They squeaked like mice, and hung to..the slenderest twigs. |
| β 1521 Fisher Serm. agst. Luther ii. Wks. (1876) 324 Faythe withouten hope is a sklender beme & of a lytle power. 1563 Shute Archit. F j b, The higher they stand, the lesser or sklenderer they muste be. |
3. a. Having little thickness or solidity in proportion to extent of surface; slight or slim in size or structure.
| 1444 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 219 Hows of this snayl, the wallys wer nat stronge, A slender shelle. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 27 b, One [cannon] beyng weake and slender, brake in peces, and..slewe the kyng. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxix. (1887) 194 Vnder a sclender veale of counterfeat liberalitie. 1655 M. Carter Honor Rediv. Ep. Ded., That I have preferred so slender a Volume to Your Honorable Patronage [etc.]. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 44 Striking through the slender partition of the Coal-wall. 1715 tr. Pancirollus' Rerum Mem. I. ii. vii. 83 They were wont to slice their Marble into slender Pieces. 1836 W. Irving Astoria III. 123 They launched forth in their canoes, but soon found that the river had not depth sufficient even for such slender barks. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxii. 43 If a slender nail hath nipt his bloom. 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost Pref. p. vii, Nearly ten years ago I dedicated to you a very slender book. |
† b. Of a thin consistency.
Obs. rare.
| 1528 Paynell Salerne's Regim. F iij b, Wattrishe wine..whose liquor is as sklender as water. 1635 Swan Spec. M. v. §2 (1643) 130 The aire and water are clean, thin, and slender. |
c. Of vowels: Narrow, close.
| 1755 Johnson Dict., Gram., A has three sounds, the slender, open, and broad. 1821 O'Reilly Irish Dict. 1/2 The rule of writing a slender with a slender, and a broad with a broad vowel. 1828 Walker Pron. Dict. 19/1 The slender a, or that heard in lane. 1889 Cent. Dict. s.v. Broad. |
4. Of small extent, size, or capacity.
| 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 463 Bretenham a very slender little towne. 1614 J. Norden Labyrinth Man's Life L iij b, Of slender sparke ariseth mighty flame. 1669 Boyle Contn. New Exper. i. (1682) 4 If the Reciever be fitly stopt, and slender enough..to let out the air at the first exuction. 1827 Hood Wee Man ii, A slender space will serve my case, For I am small and thin. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 81 When a plague..Spent that slender city. |
II. † 5. a. Moderate or deficient in power or strength.
Obs.| a 1400 Apol. Loll. 45, I wot not þat I seid it, and mannis mynd is sclendre. 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 249 The fire must be made very light and sclender, and encresed by litle and litle. 1587 Turberv. Trag. Tales (1837) 174 And eke the winde so slender was To cause the ship to steare. 1657 Austen Fruit Trees ii. 49 The inclinations..are then but very weake and slender. |
† b. Deficient in energy or vigour; lax.
Obs.| 1577 Harrison England ii. i. (1877) i. 19 The slender demeanours of such negligent ministers. 1598 J. Manwood Lawes Forest ii. (1615) 33 The slender and negligent execution of the Forest Lawes. |
6. a. Of arguments, etc.: Lacking in cogency or conclusiveness; unconvincing.
| a 1533 Frith Disput. Purgat. Prol. B j, Manye of his probacions are so slender, that they maye well be improued. 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 27 Where as my resonys schal appere to you sklender and weke. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 15 This is a poore and slender argument. 1639 Fuller Holy War iii. xiii, The proofs were as slender as the crimes gross. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. I. Wilts. 101 Though the Reasons alledged..be slender enough. |
b. Having a slight foundation, ground, or justification.
| 1562 Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 52 Breuelie considering..thair titill to this thair supreme auctorite, I fand it..sclinder and licht. 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1875) 15 This ys a slender coniecture; for, as honorable howses..haue borne as meane armes as Chaucer. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 73 England has very slender pretensions to this original and engaging painter. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 154 To the applause of the sincere friends of the Established Church Rochester had, indeed, very slender claims. 1886 Pascoe Lond. of To-day xxxv. (ed. 3) 311 Some claim (generally of the slenderest kind). |
7. Slight, small, insignificant, trifling.
Used in a variety of contexts, some of which are here distinguished by separate groups of quotations. In some cases the sense approximates to that of 8.
| (a) 1530 Palsgr. 697/1 My wytte is to sklender to talke of so wayghty a mater. 1574 A. L. tr. Calvin, Four Sermons D viij, We haue not yet comprehended all, for our capacitie is to sclendre. 1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., He has but slender Parts. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art Convers. 92, I shall have a special Regard to..those of a slender sense... I shall think I am speaking to Persons of weak Capacities. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxxvi. 285 The duke..knew the slender capacity of Suffolk. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ix. II. 496 A young man of slender abilities, loose principles, and violent temper. 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such i. 8 Attainable by the slenderest talent. |
| (b) 1536 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 36 Their commencement of the same in such slendre and sleight sorte..hathe brought them furthe almost as slendre an answer. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Tenuiter, To reason..in a sklender style. 1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Vind. Answ. §6. 77 But what a slender answer is this. 1813 Scott Rokeby i. vi, Full slender answer deigned he To Oswald's anxious courtesy. |
| (c) 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 230 To receive nothyng but as though it had been a large and high benefite, wer it in deede never so slendre. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) A 5 b, You will stand your Countrie but in slender stead..if you bee no schollers. 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac's Lett. 15 Princes are too poor, and their power too slender to afford them their full merit. 1670 Cotton Espernon iii. xi. 572 The Wound..was not to be clos'd by so slender a Remedy. 1779 J. Moore View of France (1789) I. ii. 11 They generally afford but a slender entertainment. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas i. xi. ¶6 The anticipation of my slenderest wishes was his..study. 1837 Palgrave Merch. & Friar (1844) Ded. p. i, A production possessing such slender attractions. a 1866 Grote Ethical Fragm. iv. (1876) 96 A child feels that he has not the slenderest power of acting upon the fears of others. |
| (d) 1686 J. Scott Christian Life I. ii. iii. 87 The Slenderest probability will Sway their Understanding to vote [etc.]. a 1704 T. Brown Ess. Late Politicks Wks. 1711 IV. 102 The slender Prospect we have of Success in the War against France. 1856 Kingsley Misc. (1860) I. 80 Proof of what slender grounds there are for calling Raleigh ‘suspected’. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 56 Their only hope, however slender, was in victory. |
† b. Of persons in respect of station or capacity.
| 1548 Udall Erasm. Par. Luke ii. 32 Be thei neuer so slender or lowe of degree. 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. lxxii. 4 Not without cause dooth God take more charge of the slenderer sorte, whiche are moste subjecte too wrong and violence. 1651 Rec. Communion §7 The abler sort of people, for the good example of the slender ones. |
8. Small or limited in amount, number, range, etc.
| 1564 Haward Eutrop. ii. 12 Although their wealth and substaunce was as yet but very sclender. 1587 Turberv. Trag. Tales 83 b, A iewell of no slender price. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. (1821) 146 This Armie is but very slender. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 373 In the plains then it never rains, all they ever have is a dew, which is so slender it never wets at all. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iii. 150 Their stock of provisions..was extremely slender. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 283 The land is rich, but coarse,..and produces slender crops. 1825 Lamb Elia ii. Barbara S―, Her slender earnings were the sole support of the family. 1852 Thackeray Esmond ii. iii, Taking the young gentleman's slender baggage. |
b. Of sounds: Weak, lacking in fullness.
| 1784 Cowper Task vi. 78 The redbreast warbles still, but is content With slender notes, and more than half suppress'd. 1820 Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 48 A very callow brood, chirping their slender notes. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. (1872) II. 170 It gave one little slender squeak. 1859 ― Marble Faun iv, Hilda with her slender scream. |
9. † a. Of poor quality; meagre; lacking ‘body’.
Obs. rare.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 22 A slendar and leuell ground, subiect to the water, would be fyrst plowed in the ende of August. Ibid. 45 The Pastures that lyes by the Lakes of Dumone..are but sclender. |
b. Poorly supplied.
rare—1.
| c 1700 Philips (J.), The good Ostorius often deign'd To grace my slender table. |
10. As
adv. In a slender manner; slightly.
rare.
| 1581 Mulcaster Positions iv. (1887) 20, I could wishe the wittier child, the lesse vpon the spurre,..or the sklenderer kept at it. 1743 Lond. & C. Brewer ii. (ed. 2) 88 Pale Malt has certainly most of the Grain in it, as being slenderest dry'd, and is therefore most nourishing. |
III. 11. In specific uses, chiefly in the names of animals, fishes, plants, etc. (see
quots.).
Shaw (1802–4) also gives
Slender Cæcilia,
Fistularia,
Hydrus,
Snake,
Sparus. Rennie (1832) has
Slender Gold Tongue and
Treble Bar as moth-names; also
Livid,
Nebulous,
Rufous (etc.)
Slender.
| 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 583 *Slender Bill Tern, Sterna Tenuirostris. |
| 1859 H. T. Stainton Brit. Butterfl. & M. II. 1 Their ample wings, compared to the size of their bodies, have procured for them [sc. the Geometrina] the designation of *Slender-bodies, by contrast with the Noctuina and Bombycina, termed Stout-bodied moths. |
| 1896 H. O. Forbes Hand-bk. Primates I. 208 The *Slender Capuchin. Cebus flavus. |
| 1894–5 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. III. 60 The *slender dolphin is a spotted species from the Atlantic and the Cape of Good Hope. |
| 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes I. 260 The *Slender Goby, gobius gracilis. |
| 1834 M{supc}Murtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 50 The Lazy Monkeys..The second species is called the *Slender Loris, Lemur gracilis. 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. I. 247 The Slender Loris is very common in the lower country of the south and east of Ceylon. 1893 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. I. 231 The Slender Loris..is the sole species of the genus to which it belongs. |
| Ibid. 469 In South Africa..we have also a much smaller species, the *slender mungoose. |
| 1865 Couch Brit. Fishes IV. 216 *Slender Salmon, Salmo gracilis. |
| 1893 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. I. 153 The *Slender Sapajou (Cebus pallidus)..inhabiting Bolivia. |
| 1896 Ibid. V. 491 The earliest allies of the herring tribe seem to be the extinct *slender-scales (Leptolepididæ). |
| (b) 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 291 Thread Rush, or Slender Rush. Ibid. 297 Slender Spreading Rush. 1859 ― Brit. Grasses 23 Slender Cotton-grass. Ibid. 56 Slender Fox-tail. 1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Pl. 71 Agrostis scabra, Slender Bent Grass. Ibid. 95 Oplismenus setarius, Slender Panic Grass. |
12. Comb. a. Parasynthetic, as
slender-finned,
slender-flowered,
slender-footed, etc., frequently in the specific names of animals, plants, etc.
| 1803 Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. ii. 306 *Slender-finned Flounder. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Pl. (ed. 3) III. 699 *Slender-flowered Thistle. |
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxxii. 335 The *slender-footed Cicindelidæ. |
| 1896 H. Woodward Guide Fossil Reptiles Brit. Mus. 6 The old type of long and *slender-jawed Teleosaurs. |
| 1851 Mantell Petrifactions ii. §2. 82 Numerous *slender-jointed simple tentacula. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot. s.v., A *slender-leaved plant. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right (1899) 130/1 The foliage of the slender-leaved eucalypti showed a tinge of softer green. |
| 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 320 Colts that are *slender legg'd. |
| 1663 Cowley Pindarique Odes, To Mr. Hobs iv, The Caspian, And *slender-limb'd Mediterranean. 1894 Pop. Sc. Monthly XLIV. 500 These slender-limbed..Caucasians are..temperate. |
| 1831 Griffith tr. Cuvier IX. 104 The *slender-muzzled Crocodile. |
| 1882 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 310 The *slender-nosed rhinoceros. |
| 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 3 A *slender-shafted Pine Lost footing, fell, and so was whirl'd away. |
| 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 115 *Slender-spiked Phryma. |
| Ibid. 401 *Slender stalked Star Wort. |
| 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & Ital. Note-bks. (1872) I. 4 *Slender-stemmed trees. 1882 Vines tr. Sachs' Bot. 936 In the genus Vicia..all the slender-stemmed species have leaf-tendrils. |
| 1832 Rennie Butterfl. & M. 278/1 *Slender-striped Rufous. |
| 1827 Griffith tr. Cuvier V. 82 Pouched Bat and *Slender-tailed Bat. |
| Ibid. 126 note, The *Slender-toed Weasel. |
| 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4891/4 A fair, clear skin'd Woman,..and *slender Waisted. 1848 Buckley Iliad 425 Slender-waisted women. |
| 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Acts i. 18 Papias..was..a *slender-witted man. |
b. Adverbial, as
slender-growing,
slender-twined.
| 1616 J. Hayward Sanct. Troub. Soul i. vii. (1620) 105 The slender-twined thred of this life. 1901 Gard. Chron. 16 Mar. 173/1 Cytisus filipes, a slender-growing species with tiny white flowers. |
▪ II. ˈslender, v. [f. prec.] a. trans. To attenuate.
| 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 343 Thou maiest gather that whiche oyl strengtheneth, digesteth, and sclendereth. 1965 H. Porter Cats of Venice 81 These shape-gripping cheong sams had slendered them to elegance. |
b. intr. To become narrower, to narrow. Also with
down.
| 1871 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 13 And slendering to his burning rim Into the flat blue mist the sun Drops out and all our day is done. 1955 E. Bowen World of Love iii. 55 Her strong forearms, which slendered down..to the wrists. |