English Online Dictionary. What means thin? What does thin mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”).
Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /θɪn/
- (th-fronting) IPA(key): /fɪn/
- Rhymes: -ɪn
- Homophone: fin (th-fronting)
Adjective
thin (comparative thinner, superlative thinnest)
- Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
- Very narrow in all diameters; having a cross section that is small in all directions.
- Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt.
- Of low viscosity or low specific gravity.
- Scarce; not close, crowded, or numerous; not filling the space.
- (golf) Describing a poorly played golf shot where the ball is struck by the bottom part of the club head. See fat, shank, toe.
- Lacking body or volume; small; feeble; not full.
- Slight; small; slender; flimsy; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering.
- (aviation) Of a route: relatively little used.
- Poor; scanty; without money or success.
Synonyms
- (having little thickness from one surface to its opposite): narrow; see also Thesaurus:narrow
- (very narrow in all diameters): fine
- (having little body fat or flesh): reedy, skinny, slender, slim, svelte, waifish; see also Thesaurus:slender or Thesaurus:scrawny
- (of low viscosity): runny, watery; see also Thesaurus:runny
- (not close or crowded): spaced out, sparse; see also Thesaurus:diffuse
- (not numerous): scant, scarce, slight
Antonyms
- thick
Derived terms
Related terms
- thinness
Translations
Noun
thin (plural thins)
- (philately) A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole.
- Any food produced or served in thin slices.
- chocolate mint thins
- potato thins
- wheat thins
Translations
Verb
thin (third-person singular simple present thins, present participle thinning, simple past and past participle thinned)
- (transitive) To make thin or thinner.
- (intransitive) To become thin or thinner.
- To dilute.
- To remove some plants or parts of plants in order to improve the growth of what remains.
Derived terms
Translations
Adverb
thin (comparative more thin, superlative most thin)
- Not thickly or closely; in a scattered state.
- seed sown thin
Further reading
- “thin”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “thin”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “thin”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
- Nith, hint
Middle English
Etymology 1
Determiner
thin (subjective pronoun þou)
- Alternative form of þin (“thy”)
Pronoun
thin (subjective þou)
- Alternative form of þin (“thine”)
Etymology 2
Adjective
thin
- Alternative form of thinne (“thin”)
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *þīn.
Determiner
thīn
- thy, your (singular)
- thine, yours
Inflection
Descendants
- Middle Dutch: dijn
- Dutch: dijn
- Limburgish: dien
Further reading
- “thīn”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012
Old High German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ðiːn/
Determiner
thīn
- Alternative form of din
References
- Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer, Second Edition
Old Saxon
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *þīn.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /θiːn/
- (late Old Saxon) IPA(key): [ðiːn]
Determiner
thīn
- thy, your (singular)
- thine, yours
Declension
See also
References
- Köbler, Gerhard, Altsächsisches Wörterbuch (5th edition 2014)
- Altsächsisches Elementarbuch by Dr. F. Holthausen
Etymology 2
See here.
Determiner
thin
- instrumental singular masculine/neuter of thē
Welsh
Noun
thin
- Aspirate mutation of tin.