lean

English Online Dictionary. What means lean‎? What does lean mean?

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: lēn, IPA^(key): /liːn/
• Rhymes: -iːn
• Homophone: lien

Etymology 1

From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.

Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Middle Dutch leunen (“to lean”), German lehnen (“to lean”); via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline.

Verb

lean (third-person singular simple present leans, present participle leaning, simple past and past participle leaned or (UK) leant)

1. (intransitive) To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.

2. (copulative) To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; often with to, toward, etc.
3. (Followed by against, on, or upon) To rest or rely, for support, comfort, etc.
4. To hang outwards.
5. To press against.

Derived terms

Related terms

• climate
• cline

Translations

Noun

lean (plural leans)

1. (of an object taller than its width and depth) An inclination away from the vertical.

Synonyms

• (inclination away from vertical): tilt

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English lene (“lean”), from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps from hlǣnan (“to cause to lean (due to hunger or lack of food)”), from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to lean”).

Adjective

lean (comparative leaner, superlative leanest)

2. (of a person or animal) Slim; not fleshy.

   Synonyms: lithe, svelte, willowy; see also Thesaurus:slender
3. (of meat) Having little fat.
4. Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.

   Synonyms: insufficient, scarce, sparse; see also Thesaurus:inadequate

5. Having a low proportion or concentration of a desired substance or ingredient.

   Synonyms: deficient, dilute, poor

   Antonym: rich

6. (printing, archaic) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat.

7. (business) Efficient, economic, frugal, agile, slimmed-down; pertaining to the modern industrial principles of "lean manufacturing".

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

lean (countable and uncountable, plural leans)

1. (uncountable) Meat with no fat on it.
2. (countable, biology) An organism that is lean in stature.
   • 1986, Southwest Fisheries Center (U.S.), Collected Reprints (issue 1)

     The intermediates and leans are the predominant morphotypes found at the SE-NHR seamounts […]

Verb

lean (third-person singular simple present leans, present participle leaning, simple past and past participle leaned)

2. To thin out (a fuel-air mixture): to reduce the fuel flow into the mixture so that there is more air or oxygen.

   Synonyms: derich, disenrich

   Antonym: enrich

Etymology 3

From Icelandic leyna? Akin to German leugnen (“deny”). Compare lie (“speak falsely”).

Verb

lean (third-person singular simple present leans, present participle leaning, simple past and past participle leaned)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) To conceal.

References

Etymology 4

Probably from the verb to lean (see etymology 1 above), supposedly because consumption of the intoxicating beverage causes one to "lean". Alternatively, possibly short for gasoline (“an alcoholic beverage made of vodka and energy drink”).

Noun

lean (uncountable)

1. (slang, US) A recreational drug based on codeine-laced promethazine cough syrup, especially popular in the hip hop community in the southeastern United States.

   Synonyms: sizzurp, syrup, purple drank

See also

• lean on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• “lean”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “lean”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• lane, Lena, enal, neal, Elan, elan, élan, ELAN, Nale, Neal, Lane, nale, Alen, Alne

Galician

Verb

lean

1. inflection of ler:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative
2. third-person plural present indicative of lear

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish lenaid (“stays, sticks (to), follows”), from Proto-Celtic *linati (“to stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”); compare Latin linō (“anoint”), līmus (“mud, slime”), Sanskrit लिनाति (lināti, “sticks, stays”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /lʲan̪ˠ/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): /l̠ʲanˠ/, /l̠ʲan̪ˠ/

Verb

lean (present analytic leanann, future analytic leanfaidh, verbal noun leanúint, past participle leanta)

1. (transitive, intransitive) to follow
2. to continue

3. to remain
4. to endure

Conjugation

• Alternative verbal noun: leanacht (Cois Fharraige)

Derived terms

• folean
• leantóir

References

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “lean”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “lenaid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈlea̯n/

Verb

lean

1. inflection of leat:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. past indicative connegative

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /læ͜ɑːn/

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *laun.

Noun

lēan n

1. reward

Declension

Derived terms

• ġeōlēan
• lēanian

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *lahan. Cognate with Old Saxon lahan, Old High German lahan, Old Norse lá, Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (laian).

Verb

lēan

1. (transitive) to blame, fault, reproach

Conjugation

Descendants

• Middle English: *lēen (attested in past tense lough)

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish lenaid (“stays, sticks (to), follows”), from Proto-Celtic *linati (“stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”); compare Latin linō (“anoint”), Sanskrit लिनाति (lināti, “sticks, stays”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʎɛn/

Verb

lean (past lean, future leanaidh, verbal noun leantainn or leanmhainn, past participle leanta)

1. follow
2. continue, proceed

   An lean an droch aimsir? ― Will the bad weather continue?

Derived terms

• fo-leantach (“subjunctive”)
• lean air (“continue”)
• ainlean (“persecute”)

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlean/ [ˈle.ãn]
• Rhymes: -ean
• Syllabification: le‧an

Verb

lean

1. inflection of leer:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian lān, from Proto-West Germanic *laun. Cognate with Old English lēan.

Noun

lean n (plural leanen, diminutive leantsje)

1. wage, wages, salary
2. reward

Further reading

• “lean”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011