slender

Etymology

From Middle English slendre, sclendre, from Old French esclendre (“thin, slender”), from Old Dutch slinder (“thin, lank”), from Proto-Germanic *slindraz (“sliding, slippery”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- (“to slip”). Cognate with Bavarian Schlenderling (“that which dangles”), German schlendern (“to saunter, stroll”), Dutch slidderen, slinderen (“to wriggle, creep like a serpent”), Low German slindern (“to slide on ice”). More at slide, slither.

adj

1. Thin; slim.
   A rod is a long slender pole used for angling.
   Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess
2. (figurative) meagre; deficient
   Being a person of slender means, he was unable to afford any luxuries.
   The slender service between Ellesmere Port and Helsby has been added, too. January 26 2022, Barry Doe, “Fabrik offers an end to hard times”, in RAIL, number 949, page 42
3. (Gaelic languages) Palatalized.