elegant

[ el-i-guhnt ]
/ ˈɛl ɪ gənt /

adjective

tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.
gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.
appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
excellent; fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.
(of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.

Origin of elegant

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.

synonym study for elegant

1. See fine1.

OTHER WORDS FROM elegant

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH elegant

elegant eloquent

Example sentences from the Web for elegant

British Dictionary definitions for elegant

elegant
/ (ˈɛlɪɡənt) /

adjective

tasteful in dress, style, or design
dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc
cleverly simple; ingenious an elegant solution to a problem

Derived forms of elegant

elegantly, adverb

Word Origin for elegant

C16: from Latin ēlegāns tasteful, related to ēligere to select; see elect