gracile

English

Alternative forms

  • gracilent

Etymology

From Latin gracilis (slender). In the “graceful” sense, apparently influenced by the non-cognate word grace.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹæs.aɪl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹæs.aɪl/, /ˈɡɹeɪs.aɪl/

Adjective

gracile (comparative more gracile, superlative most gracile)

  1. Slender; thin; lean.
    • 1853, Works of Walter Savage Landor:
      Unswathe his Egyptian mummy; and [] you disclose the grave features and gracile bones of [] a cat
    • 1971, Oxford English Dictionary#Compact_editions:
      Gracile ... By some recent writers misused (through association with grace) for "Gracefully slender":
    • 2005, Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale:
      They seem to have evolved from more ‘gracile’ apes (gracile being the opposite of robust).
    • 2009, Clive Finlayson, Neanderthals and Modern Humans:
      A more gracile morphology would have been far more efficient over larger areas.
  2. Graceful or gracefully slender.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams


French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin gracilis. Doublet of grêle.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡʁa.sil/

Adjective

gracile (plural graciles)

  1. gracile

Further reading


Italian

Adjective

gracile (masculine and feminine plural gracili)

  1. delicate, frail, weakly
  2. slender, thin

Anagrams


Latin

Adjective

gracile

  1. nominative neuter singular of gracilis
  2. accusative neuter singular of gracilis
  3. vocative neuter singular of gracilis
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.