Gracile

Pronunciation

• UK
• IPA: /ɡɹæs.aɪl/

Alternative forms

• gracilent

Origin

From Latin gracilis ("slender"). In the “graceful” sense, apparently influenced by the non-cognate word grace (cf. to contrast the distinct etymologies).

Full definition of gracile

Adjective

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, :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.

Derived terms

• gracility

Anagrams

• glacier