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adjective
1.
tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.
2.
gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
3.
graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.
4.
appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
5.
EXPANDexcellent; fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.
6.
COLLAPSE(of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin ēlegant- (stem of ēlegāns) tasteful, choice, equivalent to ēleg- (akin to ēlig- select; see elect) + -ant- -ant; orig. present participle of lost v.
1400–50; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin ēlegant- (stem of ēlegāns) tasteful, choice, equivalent to ēleg- (akin to ēlig- select; see elect) + -ant- -ant; orig. present participle of lost v.
Related forms
el·e·gant·ly, adverb
hy·per·el·e·gant, adjective
hy·per·el·e·gant·ly, adverb
o·ver·el·e·gant, adjective
o·ver·el·e·gant·ly, adverb
EXPANDsu·per·el·e·gant, adjective
su·per·el·e·gant·ly, adverb
un·el·e·gant, adjective
un·el·e·gant·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Elegant
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Example Sentences
- This brief book is elegant and surprising.
- This is an elegant, disturbing and thought-provoking novel.
- Evolution is an elegant theory.
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
elegant
late 15c., from M.Fr. élégant (15c.), from L. elegantem (nom. elegans) "choice, fine, tasteful," prp. of eligere "select with care, choose." Elegans was originally a term of reproach, "dainty, fastidious;" the notion of "tastefully refined" emerged in classical Latin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
elegant definition
(From Mathematics) Combining simplicity, power, and a certain ineffable grace of design. Higher praise than "clever", "winning" or even cuspy.
The French aviator, adventurer, and author Antoine de Saint-Exup'ery, probably best known for his classic children's book "The Little Prince", was also an aircraft designer. He gave us perhaps the best definition of engineering elegance when he said "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
[Jargon File]
(1994-11-29)
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