"Lean" is someone very thin and sinewy. This word refers more to animals. In this article, we will consider the etymology of the term "lean". We study its lexical meaning. And in the end, we pick up synonyms and examples of its use.
Etymology of the word "lean"
The term under study comes from the concept of "heat." It is a common Slavic word and has been found in Old Russian since the 12th century. Initially, the word denoted hot coals.
This term is an abbreviated form of the term "fry, fry". At first this word was used to refer to a hound dog that had "tan markings." These are such spots of a light shade, but rather - from light brown to red in black dogs. Uneven coloring resembles something fried. Hence the meaning of "lean" for such a dog.
Among other things, these dogs did not have body fat. The hunting dogs were strong and sinewy. This is where the meaning of the word under investigation came from as "thin."
The lexical meaning of the word "lean"
According to the explanatory dictionaries of S. I. Ozhegov, N. Yu. Shvedova, T. F. Efremova and D. N. Ushakov, this term has the meaning of a "thin physique." This is the structure of the figure when the stomach and sides are pulled inward.
Most often, the definition relates to animals: horses, representatives of wolf and feline. This is due to his initial association with the hounds.
However, it may be applicable to a person’s figure. This is not just a skinny man, but it is muscular and sinewy. There is no fat in the structure of his body, he is slender and thin. But at the same time strong.
Synonyms and examples of use
There are several words that are similar in meaning to the studied. Here is some of them:
- thin;
- muscular;
- wiry;
- skinny;
- dry;
- emaciated.
Best of all, the sentences in which it is used will help to understand the word. Here are a few examples of the use of the word "lean":
- Andrey had a lean figure from his youth.
- The breed of dog toy terrier bred for hunting rats. They are small, lean and fast.
- To make bets on the races, Leonid looked at the horses for a long time and chose the most lean one.
- A healthy hunting dog should be lean.
- This soldier was slender, handsome and lean.
Thus, “lean” is someone very thin, but at the same time strong and muscular. Initially, this applied to thin hounds with special tan marks in the color of the color. However, over time, this word acquired a different meaning - a slender and thin figure of someone.