thin

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈθɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪn

Etymology

Middle English thin, thinne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”), (compare Proto-Germanic *þanjanan (“to stretch, spread out”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from Proto-Indo-European *tenw(ə)- (“to pull, stretch”).

Adjective

thin (comparative thinner, superlative thinnest)

1. Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.

   thin plate of metal

   thin paper

   thin board

   thin covering

2. Very narrow in all diameters; having a cross section that is small in all directions.

   thin wire

   thin string

3. Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt.

   thin person

4. Of low viscosity or low specific gravity, e.g., as is water compared to honey.
5. Scarce.
6. Overly strict.
7. (sports) Describing a poorly played golf shot where the ball is struck by the bottom part of the club head. See fat, shank, toe.

Synonyms

• reedy
• slender
• slim
• skinny
• waifish
• fine
• lightweight
• narrow
• svelte
• See also Wikisaurus:scrawny

Antonyms

• thick

Translations

slim, narrow in size

Arabic: رفيع (ar) (raqii`), رقيق (ar) (raqiiq) Armenian: բարակ (hy) (barak), նիհար (hy) (nihar) Aromanian: subtsãre Belarusian: тонкі (be) (tónki) Bosnian: tanak (bs) m. Chamicuro: na'sekolojka Chinese: Mandarin: 薄 (cmn) (báo), 細 (cmn), 细 (cmn) (xì), (skinny) 瘦 (cmn) (shòu) Cornish: moen (kw), tanow (kw) Dutch: dun (nl) Esperanto: maldika (eo) Finnish: ohut (fi) (thing); hoikka, solakka, laiha (creature) French: maigre (fr), mince (fr) Friulian: fin, sutîl German: dünn (de) Middle High German: dünne Hebrew: דק (he) (dak), כחוש (he) Hindi: पतला (hi) (patlā) Hungarian: vékony (hu), sovány (hu) Ido: magra (io) Irish: caol (ga) Italian: sottile (it), magro (it) Japanese: (of flat objects) 薄い (ja) (usui), (of cylindrical objects, people) 細い (ja) (hosoi)

Korean: 얇은 (ko) (yalbeun), (predicate) 얇다 (ko) (yalpda) Kurdish: Sorani: باریک (ku) (bAreek), ته‌نک (ku) (tanik) Latin: subtīlis (la) Macedonian: тенок (mk) (ténok) m., слаб (mk) (slab) m. Manx: thanney (gv) Neapolitan: sicco Old English: þynne (ang) Old High German: dunni Old Norse: þunnr Polish: wąski (pl) m., cienki (pl) m. Portuguese: fino (pt) (of objects), magro (pt) (of people or animals) Romanian: subțire (ro), slab (ro) Russian: тонкий (ru) (tónkij), (of a man or animal) худой (ru) (xudój), тощий (ru) (tóščij) Sicilian: suttili (scn) Spanish: fino (objects), delgado (people) Swedish: mager (sv) (person or animal), slank (sv) (person or animal), smal (sv), tunn (sv) Telugu: సన్నని (te) (sannani) Tswana: -sesane (tn) Ukrainian: тонкий (uk) (tonkyj) Urdu: پتلا (ur) (patlā) Vietnamese: (of people) gầy (vi), (of object) mỏng (vi)

of low viscosity or low specific gravity

Armenian: ջրիկ (hy) (ǰrik) Czech: řídký (cs) m. Finnish: ohut (fi), laiha (fi) Hungarian: híg (hu) Japanese: 薄い (ja) (usui), 稀な (ja) (mare na) Kurdish: Sorani: شل (ku) (shil)

Macedonian: редок (mk) (rédok) m. Polish: rzadki (pl) m. Russian: жидкий (ru) (žídkij) Scottish Gaelic: lom (gd)

scarce

Armenian: նոսր (hy) (nosr) Finnish: niukka, harva, vähälukuinen Japanese: 薄い (ja) (usui)

Macedonian: редок (mk) (rédok) m. Polish: rzadki (pl) m. Telugu: అరుదు (te) (arudu)

overly strict

Telugu: ఖచ్చితము (te) (khaccitamu)

golf: of a poorly played golf shot

Japanese: シャンクした (ja) (shanku shita)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Breton: moan Dutch: dun, smal, slank, ijl (for air) French: mince Ido: dina Indonesian: kurus (of persons, etc.), tipis (of books, etc.) Interlingua: tenue (slender); magre (lean); rar (as of hair)

Korean: 얇은 (yalbeun) Portuguese: tênue m. and f. (slender); ralo m., rala f. (as of hair) Scottish Gaelic: caol, gann (of hair) Spanish: delgado, flaco Swedish: tunn Telugu: పలుచని (paluchani)

Derived terms

terms derived from thin (adjective)

into thin air thin air thin as a rake

thick and thin thin-skinned wear thin

Noun

thin (plural thins)

1. (philately) a loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole.

Verb

thin (third-person singular simple present thins, present participle thinning, simple past and past participle thinned)

1. (transitive) To make thin or thinner
2. (intransitive) To become thin or thinner
3. To dilute
4. To remove some plants in order to improve the growth of those remaining

Derived terms

• thin out

Translations

to make thinner

Finnish: ohentaa (fi) Japanese: 削る (ja) (kezuru) Macedonian: истенчува (mk) (isténčuva), тенчи (mk) (ténči)

Spanish: adelgazar (es) Telugu: సాగగొట్టు (te) (sagagottu)

to become thinner

Finnish: oheta (fi), ohentua (fi) Japanese: (of persons, animal, etc.) 痩せる (ja) (yaseru) Macedonian: ослабува (mk) (oslábuva), слабее (mk) (slábee), се истенчува (mk) (se isténčuva), се тенчи (mk) (se ténči)

Spanish: adelgazar (es) Telugu: సన్నబడు (te) (sannabadu)

to dilute

Danish: fortynde (da) Finnish: laimentaa (fi), laimentua (fi) Japanese: 薄める (ja) (usumeru) Macedonian: разредува (mk) (razréduva)

Polish: rozcieńczyć (pl), rozrzedzić (pl) Spanish: diluir (es) Swedish: späda (sv) Telugu: పలుచన చేయు (te) (palucana ceyu)

to remove plants

Finnish: harventaa (fi) Polish: przerzedzić (pl)

Spanish: entresacar (es)

External links

• thin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• thin in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• thin at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• hint

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Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *þīnaz.

Determiner

thīn

1. thy, your (singular)
2. thine, yours

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: dijn

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Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *þīnaz.

Determiner

thīn

1. thy, your (singular)
2. thine, yours