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Svelte

 - 3 dictionary results

svelte

  [svelt, sfelt]
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–adjective, svelt⋅er, svelt⋅est.
1. slender, esp. gracefully slender in figure; lithe.
2. suave; blandly urbane.
Origin:
1810–20; < F < It svelto < VL *exvellitus pulled out (r. L ēvulsus, ptp. of ēvellere), equiv. to L ex- ex- + velli-, var. s. of vellere to pull, pluck + -tus ptp. suffix
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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svelte   (svělt)   
adj.   svelt·er, svelt·est
Slender or graceful in figure or outline; slim.

[French, from Italian svelto, from past participle of svellere, to stretch out, from Vulgar Latin *exvellere, from Latin ēvellere : ē, ex-, ex- + vellere, to pull.]
svelte'ly adv., svelte'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

svelte 
"slender, lithe," c.1817, from Fr. svelte "slim, slender," from It. svelto "slim, slender," originally "pulled out, lengthened," from pp. of svellere "to pluck or root out," from V.L. *exvellere, from L. ex- "out" + vellere "to pluck, stretch."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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