Thin, a. [Compar. Thiner; superl. Thinest.]
Etymology: [OE. thinne, thenne, thunne, AS. þynne; akin to D. dun, G. dünn, OHG. dunni, Icel. þunnr, Sw. tunn, Dan. tynd, Gael. & Ir. tana, W. teneu, L. tenuis, Gr. tanu thin, slender; also to AS. to extend, G. dehnen, Icel. , Goth. (in comp.), L. tendere to stretch, tenere to hold, Gr. tan. 51 & 237. Cf. Attenuate, Dance, Tempt, Tenable, Tend to move, Tenous, Thunder, Tone.]
1. Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite; as, a thin plate of metal; thin paper; a thin board; a thin covering.
2. Rare; not dense or thick; -- applied to fluids or soft mixtures; as, thin blood; thin broth; thin air. Shak. In the day, when the air is more thin. Bacon. Satan, bowing low His gray dissimulation, disappeared, Into thin air diffused. Milton.
3. Not close; not crowded; not filling the space; not having the individuals of which the thing is composed in a close or compact state; hence, not abundant; as, the trees of a forest are thin; the corn or grass is thin. Ferrara is very large, but extremely thin of people. Addison.
4. Not full or well grown; wanting in plumpness. Seven thin ears . . . blasted with the east wind. Gen. xli. 6.
4 more senses
5. Not stout; slim; slender; lean; gaunt; as, a person becomes thin by disease.
6. Wanting in body or volume; small; feeble; not full. Thin, hollow sounds, and lamentable screams. Dryden.
7. Slight; small; slender; flimsy; wanting substance or depth or force; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering; as, a thin disguise. My tale is done, for my wit is but thin. Chaucer.
Note: Thin is used in the formation of compounds which are mostly self-explaining; as, thin-faced, thin-lipped, thin-peopled, thin- shelled, and the like. Thin section. See under Section.
3 other Webster entries under this spelling
Thin, adv.
Not thickly or closely; in a seattered state; as, seed sown thin. Spain is thin sown of people. Bacon.
Thin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thinned; p. pr. & vb. n. Thinning.]
To make thin (in any of the senses of the adjective).
Thin, v. i.
To grow or become thin; -- used with some adverbs, as out, away, etc.; as, geological strata thin out, i. e., gradually diminish in thickness until they disappear.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for thin; he lists it under fine.
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