- svelte
- \SVELT\
- DEFINITION
adjective
1
a : slender, litheb : having even and smooth lines : sleek
2
: urbane, suave
- EXAMPLES
The TV star posted an online photo of herself, looking svelte in a figure-hugging dress.
"A trim, more svelte typeface on federal documents would slash the government's ink expenses and could save taxpayers more than $100 million a year in printing costs, an O'Hara-based researcher has found." — From an article by Adam Smeltz in thePittsburgh Tribune Review, March 29, 2014
"A trim, more svelte typeface on federal documents would slash the government's ink expenses and could save taxpayers more than $100 million a year in printing costs, an O'Hara-based researcher has found." — From an article by Adam Smeltz in thePittsburgh Tribune Review, March 29, 2014
- DID YOU KNOW?
"Svelte" came to us, by way of French, from Italian "svelto," which itself comes from the Italian verb "svellere," meaning "to pluck out" or "to pull or stretch out." In English "svelte" has been used since the early 19th century to describe a slender appearance, as in A.B. Granville's 1838 description of a countess who was "tall, svelte, pale, and interesting." By the 20th century, English speakers had stretched the word's meaning to suggest an urbane or suave nature—as poet Ezra Pound did when he described "svelte Verona," a city he visited in north Italy.
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