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.
© Webster 1913.