Slender \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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)