svelte

The story

1. Vulgar Latin · derived from*exvellere
2. Italian · derived fromsvelto“stretched out”
3. French · borrowed fromsvelte
4. English todaysvelte

Borrowed from French svelte, from Italian svelto (“stretched out”), past participle of svellere (“to pluck out, root out”), from Vulgar Latin *exvellere, from ex + vellere (“to pluck, stretch”).

First known use, by meaning

• from 1810s Attractively thin; gracefully slender.