gracile

Adjective

gracile (comparative more gracile, superlative most gracile)

1. (also, figuratively) Lean, slender, thin.
   • [T]hoſe Trees that are called Firs by the Vulgar (from their near conformity and likeneſs to that Tree) are well known by all Learned Men (by the Redneſs, the Roſinous Nature of the Wood, the Gracil Cones hanging downwards, &c.) to be the true Pitch-Tree, of which there are ſuch great plenty in...1701 November 29, Abraham de la Pryme, “III. Part of a Letter from the Reverend Mr Abraham de la Pryme to the Publisher, Concerning Trees Found under Ground in Hatfield Chace. Thorn, Nov. 19, 1701...
   • Maxillary palpi shorter than the antennæ, the terminal joint small, gracile, subulated; [...]1829, James Francis Stephens, “Genus XCVII.—Ochthebius, Leach.”, in Illustrations of British Entomology; or, A Synopsis of Indigenous Insects: […], volume II (Mandibulata), London: Printed for the...

   Synonyms:

   gracilent, lithe, svelte, willowy, gaunt, lank, lean, leansome, lithesome, lissome

2. Of an animal or skeletal element: having a slender frame.
   • This tentative comparison, plus consideration of individual skulls, shows the Neolithic pre-Greeks more Mediterranean than the Greeks, with emphasis on intermediate or gracile Mediterranean rather more than on the rugged Basic White trend, [...]1945, J. Lawrence Angel, “Neolithic Ancestors of the Greeks”, in American Journal of Archaeology, volume 49, number 3, →DOI, page 256
   • Where stratified fossil sequences are known, "gracile" fossils precede robust ones. The extremely robust hominids do not appear on the scene until about 2 million years ago, followed shortly thereafter by an "advanced" gracile. Both the advanced gracile and robust forms probably evolved from...1981, Nancy Makepeace Turner, “Early Hominid Lifeways: The Critical Role of an Interpretive Framework”, in On Becoming Human, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 254

   Antonyms:

   robust

3. Graceful or gracefully slender.
   • [A] band of dancers run upon the stage and perform a sylvan dance with gracile wavings of branches or the clinking of cymbals.1908 September 19, “The Bohemian Jinks. The Grove Play has Now Become a Distinctive Feature of Dramatic Art.”, in Alfred Holman, editor, The Argonaut, volume LXIII, number 1643, San Francisco...
   • Then Herr Spinnell turned his back and got away from there. Followed by the jubliations of the little Klŏterjahn, holding his arm in a certain cautious and stiffly gracile manner, he walked over the gravel with the vehement, yet hesitating steps of one who seeks to hide the fact that he...1923 January, Thomas Mann, “Tristan”, in The Dial, volume LXXIV, New York, N.Y.: The Dial Publishing Company, →OCLC, chapter XII, page 76

   Synonyms:

   catlike, elegant