A "lean" is someone who is very thin and wiry. This word refers to animals. In this article we will consider the etymology of the term "lean". Let's study its lexical meaning. And at the end we will select 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. Originally, the word meant hot coals.
This term is an abbreviated form of "fried, roast". At first, this word was used to refer to a beagle dog that had "burn marks". These are such spots of a light shade, but rather - from light brown to red in dogs of black color. Uneven coloring resembles something fried. Hence the meaning "lean" for such a dog.
Among other things, these dogs had no body fat. Hunting dogs were strong and wiry. That's where the meaning of the word under study as "thin" came from.
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 "thin physique". This is the structure of the figure, when the stomach and sides are pulled inward.
Most often the definition has to do with animals: horses, representatives of wolves and cats. This is due to his original association with hounds.
However, it can be applied to a human figure. This is not just a skinny person, but it is muscular and sinewy. There is no fat in the structure of his body, he is slender and thin. Yet strong.
Synonyms and examples of usage
There are several words that are similar in meaning to the one being studied. Here are some of them:
- thin;
- muscular;
- wiry;
- skinny;
- dry;
- skinny.
The best way to understand a word is to use the sentences in which it is used. Here are some examples of how the word "lean" is used:
- Andrey had a lean figure from his youth.
- The toy terrier dog breed was bred to hunt rats. They are small, lean and fast.
- To place bets on horse racing, Leonid looked closely at the horses for a long time and chose the hottest one.
- A he althy hunting dog should be lean.
- This soldier was slender, stately and lean.
So a "lean" is someone who is very thin, yet strong and muscular. It originally referred to thin hounds withspecial tan marks in the color of the coat. However, over time, this word has acquired a different meaning - a slender and thin figure of someone.
