Slim
/slɪm/noun
Thin in width or circumference; also, slender or slight in build.
Did you know?In older English usage, related forms could suggest something smooth, slender, or even deceptively slight, showing how words for physical shape often drift into ideas of appearance and subtlety.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*slimbaz
“slender, thin”
Old English
OE
slim
“slender, slim, slight”
Middle English
ME
slim
“thin, slender; also weak or insubstantial”
16th Century
English
slim
“thin, slender; often with a sense of meagerness”
Modern English
English
slim
“thin in build or narrow in width”