svelte
pronunciation
How to pronounce svelte in British English:
UK [svelt]
How to pronounce svelte in American English:
US [svɛlt]
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- Adjective:
- showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience
- gracefully slender; moving and bending with ease
Word Origin
- svelte (adj.)
- "slender, lithe," 1817, from French svelte "slim, slender" (17c.), from Italian svelto "slim, slender," originally "pulled out, lengthened," past participle of svellere "to pluck or root out," from Vulgar Latin *exvellere, from Latin ex- "out" (see ex-) + vellere "to pluck, stretch," from PIE *wel-no-, suffixed form of root *wel- (4) "to tear, pull."
Example
- 1. At the svelte end of the scale are the italians , with only one in 10 termed as obese .
- 2. Eventually , though , the agency 's strict fuel-economy rules should force american carmakers , like european ones , to offer more svelte models .
- 3. Some of us are what you might call svelte .
- 4. Former president bill clinton delivered the keynote address , while his svelte new wife tried not to make eye contact with any of the 10000 marchers .
- 5. First , there is the problem of trying on clothes in front of irritatingly svelte young shop assistants-an ordeal many plus-sized shoppers would rather not endure .