Slender, a. [Compar. Slenderer; superl. Slenderest.]
Etymology: [OE. slendre, sclendre, fr. OD. slinder thin, slender, perhaps through a French form; cf. OD. slinderen, slidderen, to creep; perh. akin to E. slide.]
1. Small or narrow in proportion to the length or the height; not thick; slim; as, a slender stem or stalk of a plant. "A slender, choleric man." Chaucer. She, as a veil down to the slender waist, Her unadorned golden tresses wore. Milton.
2. Weak; feeble; not strong; slight; as, slender hope; a slender constitution. Mighty hearts are held in slender chains. Pope. They have inferred much from slender premises. J. H. Newman. The slender utterance of the consonants. J. Byrne.
3. Moderate; trivial; inconsiderable; slight; as, a man of slender intelligence. A slender degree of patience will enable him to enjoy both the humor and the pathos. Sir W. Scott.
4. Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of support; a slender pittance. Frequent begging makes slender alms. Fuller.
3 more senses
5. Spare; abstemious; frugal; as, a slender diet. The good Ostorius often deigned To grace my slender table with his presence. Philips.
6. (Phon.)
Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i. -- Slen"der*ly, adv. -- Slen"der*ness, n.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for slender; he lists it under fine, minute.
Where he writes about it:
As that which is delicate is apt to be small, by an easy extension of meaning fine becomes a synonym for slender, slight, minute, comminuted; as, a fine thread, fine sand; or for filmy, tenuous, thin; as, a fine lace, fine wire; and as a thin edge is keen, sharp, fine becomes also a synonym for these words; as, a fine point, a fine edge. — from fine