PART I. 



BUILD, ITS DEFINITION AND ITS ONTOGENY. 



A. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



If a hundred men of about the same Btal lire be compared, it La Been 

 that they vary greatly in weight. At the same time they vary in 

 form, and especially in bulk. This variation is popularly recognized 

 by the variety of terms applied to build. Tt may be of hit en 

 pause a moment to consider popular terminology relating to build. 

 We have, first, terms expressing a marked deviation below the normal 

 build. We speak of persons as "slender," "thin," "gaunt." "slim," 

 "slight." "spare," "lank," and "spindling." These terms :u< not 

 exactly synonyms. "Lank" implies angularity; "gaunt" connotes the 

 ravage of disease; "thin" connotes a loss of weight ; "slight" connotes 

 lightness and smallness of bone; "spindling" is used especially of 

 youth in the period of rapid growth preceding adolescence; "slim" 

 has a faint connotation of insufficiency; "slender" best exp' the 



idea which we shall want to use in this work where we have a rela- 

 tively small interest in stature and where we wish to avoid connota- 

 tion of disease, developmental changes, etc. In other languages there 

 exists a series of terms which similarly differ slightly in connotation. 

 Thus, in French, there is "maigre," in German "mager," which 

 often connote a loss of weight through disease, "diinn." which con- 

 notes loss of a former more nearly average weight, and "schlank," 

 which is close to the English "slender." On the other hand, the 

 English language contains a variety of terms applicable to deviation 

 in build above the average. Thus we have the words "stout," 

 "portly," "fleshy," "corpulent," "thick-set," "obese." "chubby," and 

 "fat." The word "stout" usually carries a connotation of vigor. The 

 term "portly" connotes large size with a tendency to excessively great 

 circumference. "Fleshy" is nearly synonymous \yith "portly* 1 but has 

 less connotation of majesty of size. "Corpulent" usually carries 

 connotation of abdominal enlargement. '"Thick-set" implies a lai 

 bony frame. "Obese" frequently connotes excessive, Btrictly patho- 

 logical, increase of build, "(hubby" is applied especially to infants. 

 "Fat" connotes excessive production of fat in the body, as opposed to 

 an unusually large muscular development. Perhaps of all of thi 

 terms "fleshy" is as satisfactory as any as an expression for build 

 without connotation in respect to degree or source of great weight, 

 whether due to fat, muscle, or bone. In the German language there 

 are the terms, "plump," and "schwerfallig," winch serve to expi 

 large build. In the French language there are the terms, "gl 

 "obese," and "embonpoint." which is near to the English equivalent 



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