slim
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowing from Low German or Dutch slim (“bad, sly, clever”), from Middle Dutch slim (“bad, crooked”), from Old Dutch *slimb, from Proto-West Germanic *slimb, from Proto-Germanic *slimbaz (“oblique, crooked”). The sense development would have been "slanting, cunning" (Dutch) > "insignificant, slight" and then "thin, graceful" in English, a shift that Liberman calls an "incredible amelioration" of word meaning.[1]
The pejorative sense found in Low German and Dutch is also found preserved in the archaic English noun slim (“worthless or lazy person”), also comparable to the South African use of the adjective as "crafty, sly."[2]
Compare Dutch slim (“smart, clever, crafty”), Middle High German slimp (“slanting, awry”), German schlimm (“bad”), West Frisian slim (“bad, dire”).
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
slim (comparative slimmer, superlative slimmest)
- Slender, thin.
- (of something abstract like a chance or margin) Very small, tiny.
- I'm afraid your chances are quite slim.
- 2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC[1]:
- Wolves' debatable third in the last 10 minutes, with the ball only crossing the line by the slimmest of margins if at all, ensured a cracking finale, although City would have been left aggrieved had they let the win slip.
- (rustic, Northern England, Scotland) Bad, of questionable quality; not strongly built, flimsy.
- A slimly-shod lad;a slimly-made cart.
- (South Africa, obsolete in UK) Sly, crafty.
Synonyms edit
- (slender in an attractive way.): lithe, svelte, willowy; see also Thesaurus:slender
- (clothing):
- (long and narrow): fine, stalky, sticklike, thin, virgate
- (reduced workforce):
- (tiny; of something abstract): infinitesimal, marginal; see also Thesaurus:tiny
- (of questionable quality): flimsy, lousy, shoddy; see also Thesaurus:low-quality
- (crafty): cunning, frood; see also Thesaurus:wily
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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References edit
Noun edit
slim (plural slims)
- A type of cigarette substantially longer and thinner than normal cigarettes.
- I only smoke slims.
- (Ireland, regional) A potato farl.
- (East Africa, uncountable) AIDS, or the chronic wasting associated with its later stages.
- (slang, uncountable) Cocaine.
Alternative forms edit
- (AIDS): Slim
Verb edit
slim (third-person singular simple present slims, present participle slimming, simple past and past participle slimmed)
- (intransitive) To lose weight in order to achieve slimness.
- (transitive) To make slimmer; to reduce in size.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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References edit
- ^ Liberman, A. (2009). Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, USA, p. 200
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Anagrams edit
Danish edit
Etymology edit
From Old Norse slím (“slime”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
slim c or n (singular definite slimen or slimet, uncountable)
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch slim, slem, slimp, slemp, from Old Dutch *slimb, from Proto-Germanic *slimbaz (“oblique, crooked”), compare German schlimm (“bad”), English slim. The semantic development in Dutch was “physically crooked” → “morally crooked” → “sly, artful” → “clever, intelligent”.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
slim (comparative slimmer, superlative slimst)
Inflection edit
Inflection of slim | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | slim | |||
inflected | slimme | |||
comparative | slimmer | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | slim | slimmer | het slimst het slimste | |
indefinite | m./f. sing. | slimme | slimmere | slimste |
n. sing. | slim | slimmer | slimste | |
plural | slimme | slimmere | slimste | |
definite | slimme | slimmere | slimste | |
partitive | slims | slimmers | — |
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
slim n (definite singular slimet, uncountable)
Derived terms edit
References edit
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
slim n (definite singular slimet, uncountable)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- “slim” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Germanic *slīmą, from Proto-Indo-European *sley- (“smooth; slick; sticky; slimy”)
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
slīm ?
Descendants edit
- English: slime
Romanian edit
Noun edit
slim n (plural slimuri)
- Alternative form of slin
Declension edit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) slim | slimul | (niște) slimuri | slimurile |
genitive/dative | (unui) slim | slimului | (unor) slimuri | slimurilor |
vocative | slimule | slimurilor |
West Frisian edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
slim
Inflection edit
Inflection of slim | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | slim | |||
inflected | slimme | |||
comparative | slimmer | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | slim | slimmer | it slimst it slimste | |
indefinite | c. sing. | slimme | slimmere | slimste |
n. sing. | slim | slimmer | slimste | |
plural | slimme | slimmere | slimste | |
definite | slimme | slimmere | slimste | |
partitive | slims | slimmers | — |
Further reading edit
- “slim (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011