elegant
[ el-i-guhnt ]
/ ˈɛl ɪ gənt /
adjective
tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.
gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.
appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
excellent; fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.
(of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.
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Origin of elegant
First recorded in 1400–50; Late Middle English (from Middle French ), from Latin ēlegant- (stem of ēlegāns ) “tasteful, choice,” equivalent to ēleg- (akin to ēlig- “select”) + -ant- a suffix forming adjectives from verbs; originally the present participle of ēlegāre (unattested); see origin at elect, -ant
synonym study for elegant
1. See fine1.
OTHER WORDS FROM elegant
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH elegant
elegant , eloquent.Words nearby elegant
electuary, eledoisin, eleemosynary, elegance, elegancy, elegant, elegiac, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elegist, elegit
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for elegant
British Dictionary definitions for elegant
elegant
/ (ˈɛlɪɡənt) /
adjective
tasteful in dress, style, or design
dignified and graceful in appearance, behaviour, etc
cleverly simple; ingeniousan elegant solution to a problem
Derived forms of elegant
elegantly, adverbWord Origin for elegant
C16: from Latin ēlegāns tasteful, related to ēligere to select; see elect
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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