English Explanatory Dictionary

gracile

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Lean, slender, thin.
  2. Of an animal or skeletal element: having a slender frame.
  3. Graceful or gracefully slender.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡɹæsaɪl/ /-sɪl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-gracile.wav /ˈɡɹæˌsaɪl/ /ˈɡɹæsəl/ /ˈɡɹeɪˌsaɪl/

Word forms

gracile more gracile most gracile

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French gracil, gracile (“slender, thin”) (modern French gracile (“gracile”)), or directly from its etymon Latin gracilis (“slender, slim, thin; lean, meagre, scanty; simple, unadorned”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerḱ- (“to become thin; to wane”). The sense “graceful or gracefully slender” was apparently influenced by the non-cognate word grace. The English word is cognate with Italian gracile (“delicate, frail; slender, thin”), Portuguese grácil, Spanish grácil (“graceful; delicate; slender”), and a doublet of gracilis.

Synonyms

gracilent lithe svelte willowy gaunt gracile lank lean leansome lithesome lissome rangy sleek slender slight slim slinky swack sylphlike catlike elegant

Antonyms

robust

Related words

gracilent gracilis

Derived words

gracile australopithecine gracileness gracility gracilize
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