svelte

[ svelt, sfelt ]
/ svɛlt, sfɛlt /

adjective, svelt·er, svelt·est.

slender, especially gracefully slender in figure; lithe.
suave; blandly urbane.

Origin of svelte

1810–20; < French < Italian svelto < Vulgar Latin *exvellitus pulled out (replacing Latin ēvulsus, past participle of ēvellere), equivalent to Latin ex- ex-1 + velli-, variant stem of vellere to pull, pluck + -tus past participle suffix

Example sentences from the Web for svelte

British Dictionary definitions for svelte

svelte
/ (svɛlt, sfɛlt) /

adjective

attractively or gracefully slim; slender
urbane or sophisticated

Word Origin for svelte

C19: from French, from Italian svelto, from svellere to pull out, from Latin ēvellere, from ex- 1 + vellere to pull