thin 
and deriv.), also mmi'ir (for "TavaFof, ill eomp. 
). stretched nut. slim. linitf. tliin. t;i|ier. 
= Skt. limn, stretched oiit,tliiii: "rig. 'Mi-etched 
mil,' ciiiuiecied with ;i verb seen in AS. lln-ni- 
ini, "llii-niiiiii, in rniiiji. it-tin niiin = OHO. den- 
liilll. Mild, ilillfll, d. ill'lllli-H = (iotll. "tlllllljilll. 
in coinp. iif-tliiiiijiin, stretch out (a secondary 
form of AS", 'tin HIIH, dr.), = I,, tniilin. stretch 
( iriii-i-r. hold), = 0r. Ttivttv, stretch, = Skt.-x/ /", 
stretch, etc. A very prolific root; from the L. 
adj. are ult. E. tnuioiis, It-unit;/, ulli niintr, ex- 
l,-iiii<ilr, etc., and from the L. verb root are ult. 
E. tfinli. ulti'iiil, iiiti nil. etc., li'iiilnn, etc. (gee 
Ifiiill r. from the (Jr., linn-, tonic, etc.. tii-nin, lu- 
st. i, elc.J 1. Very narrow in all diameters; 
slender; slim; long and fine: as, a thin wire; 
:i i lii a string. 
Then the priest shall see the plague; and, behold, if 
. . . there tit- in i( a yellow thin hair, then the priest shall 
prnnonm-e him unclean. Lev. MM. 30. 
r. Hues I In- blind Fury with the abhorred shears, 
Anil silts the (Aiii-spun life. Milton, Lyeldas, 1. 76. 
2. Very narrow in one diameter; having the 
opposite surfaces very near together; having 
little thickness or depth ; not thick ; not heavy : 
as, thin paper; thin boards: opposed to thick. 
Kerue not thy brede to thynne, 
Ne breke hit not on twynne. 
Babea Boole (E. E. T. 8.), P- 1- 
I'm a cold ; this white satin Is too thin unless It be cut, 
(or then the sun enters. 
Deleter and Webster, Northward Ho, Iv. 4. 
The Judge had put on his tltinnat shoes, for the birch- 
bark canoe has a delicate floor. 
C. F. tfoobon, Jupiter Lights, iv. 
3. Having the constituent parts loose or sparse 
in arrangement ; lacking density, compactness, 
or luxuriance ; rare ; specifically, of the air and 
other gases, rarefied. 
The men han thynne Berdea and (ewe Heres ; but t In i 
ben longe. MandeviUe, Travels, p. 207. 
These our actors, 
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and 
Are melted Into air, Into thin ah". 
Shale., Tempest, Iv. 1. 160. 
And woods, made thin with winds, their scatter'd honours 
mourn. Dryden, tr. of Horace's Odes, I. xxlx. 04. 
4. Hence, easily seen through; transparent, 
literally or figuratively ; shallow ; flimsy ; slight : 
as, a thin disguise. 
I come not 
To hear such flattery now, and in my presence ; 
They are too thin and bare to hide offences. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., v. 3. 125. 
Throned in the centre of Ills thin designs, 
Proud o( a vast extent of flimsy lines ! 
Pope, Prol. to .Satires, 1. 93. 
We bear our shades about us; self-depriv'd 
Of other screen, the (Am umbrella spread. 
Cmcper, Task, i. 260. 
5. Having slight consistency or viscosity : said 
of liquids: as, thin syrup j thin gruel. 6. De- 
ficient in some characteristic or important in- 
gredient; lacking strength or richness; spe- 
cifically, of liquors, small : opposed to strong. 
I couthe si-Hi- 
Hothe dregges and draf, and draw at one hole 
Thlcke ale and thynne ale. 
Pirn Plowman (C), xxil. 40-i 
If I hud a thousand sons, the first humane principle I 
would teach them should be to forswear thin potations. 
Shalt., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 8. 1S4. 
When banes are craz'd, an' bluld is thin. 
Burns, First Epistle to Davle. 
7. Of sound, lacking in fullness ; faint, and of- 
ten somewhat shrill or metallic in tone. 
Thin hollow sounds, and lamentable screams. Dryden. 
In a clear voice and thin 
The holy man 'gan to set forth the faith. 
William Aforrut, Earthly Paradise, II. 287. 
8. Limited in power or capacity; feeble; weak. 
My tale Is doon, (or my wytte Is thi/nnr. 
Chaucer, .Merchant's Tale, I. 438. 
On the altar a thin flickering flame 
Just showed the golden letters of her name. 
William Harris, Earthly Paradise, I. 384. 
9. Meager; lean; spare; not plump or fat. 
And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and 
full ears. Gen. xll. 7. 
No meagre, muse-rid mope, adust and thin. 
In a dun night-gown of his own loose skin. 
Pope, Dunciad, II. 37. 
His face is growing sharp and thin. 
Tennyson, Death of the Old Year. 
10. Limited in quantity or number; small or 
infrequent; scanty. 
You are like to have a thin and slender pittance. 
Shak., T. of the 8., Iv. 4. 61. 
The thin remains of Troy's afflicted host 
In distant realms may seats unenvled find. 
Ail'lixntt, tr. of Monu-t-'s Oilrs. iii. X 
6291 
Mr. l'owi-11 has a very full congregation, while we hmve 
a very thin h"ii>--. .>''/- sprrt;iii, NI>. t; 
11. Scantily occupied or furnished; bare; 
empty: used absolutely or with of. 
The cheerfulness of a spirit that is blessed will make a 
thin table become a delicacy. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, II. 0. 
The University being thin this Vacation time, the con- 
tributions designed for me go on but slowly. 
Ken. Simon OcHey (Ellis's Lit. Letters, p. 353). 
When a nation abounds In physicians, it grows thin of 
people. Addison, Spectator, No. 21. 
12. Having no depth: said of a school of fish. 
13. Having insufBcient density or contrast to 
give a good photographic print or a satisfactory 
image on the screen; weak: said of a negative 
or a lantern-slide Thin register. See re<ji*tert, 5 
(6). Through thick and thin. See <Aic*.-Too thin, 
failing to convince ; easily seen through ; not sufficient to 
impose on one. 
thin 1 (thin), adv. [< Muni, a.] Thinly. 
Ere you come to Edinburgh port, 
I trow thin guarded sail ye be. 
Sang of the Outiatr Murray (Child's Ballads, VI. r,). 
thin 1 (thin), i). ; pret. and pp. thinned, ppr. thin- 
ning. [< ME. thynnen, < AS. ge-thynnan, make 
thin, < thynne, thin : see thin 1 , a.] I. trans. To 
make thin, (a) To attenuate ; draw or spread out thin ; 
hence, to reduce In thickness or depth : as, to (Atn a board 
by planing. 
How the blood lle> upon her cheek, all spread 
As thinned by kisses ! Browning, Pauline. 
(b) To make less dense or compact ; make sparse ; specifi- 
cally, to rarefy, as a gas. 
Who with the ploughshare clove the barren moors, . . . 
Thinned the rank woods. 
Wordneorth, Off Saint Bees' Heads. 
(c) To reduce In consistency or viscosity : said of liquids : 
as, to thin starch. ('/) To reduce in strength or richness : 
as, to thin the blood. (?) To make lean or spare. 
A troublous touch 
Thiiiu'il or would seem to (Ai' her in a day. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
(.' ! To reduce In numbers or frequency. 
One half of the noble families had been thimn-if by pro- 
scription, llallam, Middle Ages, ill. s. 
Many a wasting plague, and nameless crime, 
\ml bloody war that thinned the human race. 
Bryant, Death of Slavery. 
(</) To make bare or empty. 
The oppressive, sturdy, man-destroying villains . . . 
Thin il states of half their people, lltair. The Grave. 
For attempting to keep up the fervor of devotion for so 
long a time, we have thin, ml our churches. 
Sydney Smith, In Lady Holland, 111. 
II. intrans. To become thin, (a) To diminish 
in thickness ; grow or become thin : with out, a\cay, etc. : 
thus geological strata are said to (Am out when they grad- 
ually diminish In thickness till they disappear. (S) To 
become less dense, compact, or crowded ; become sparse ; 
hence, to become scattered ; separate. 
The crowd in Rotten Row begins to thin. 
Bultcer, My Novel, v. 4. 
My hair is thinning away at the crown, 
And the silver fights with the worn-out brown. 
W. S. Ottbert, Haunted. 
thin 2 t, pron. A Middle English form of thine. 
thine (THin), pron. [In defs. 1 and 2 orig. gen. 
of thou; < ME. thin, tliyn, < AS. thin (= OS. 
OFries. thin = OHG. MHG. din, G. dein, deiner 
= Icel. thin = Goth, theina), gen. of thu, thou: 
see thou. In def. 3 merely poss. (adj.), < ME. 
thin, thi/n, < AS. thin = OS. thin = OFries. thin, 
din = MD. dijn = OHG. MHG. ([in, G . dein = Icel. 
Minn, thin, tlritt = Sw. Dan. dm = Goth, tlieinn, 
thine; poss. adj. Hence, by loss of the final 
consonant, thu. For the forms and uses, cf. 
mine 1 .] If. Of thee; the original genitive of 
the pronoun limn. 
To-mo(r)we ye sholen beu weddeth. 
And, maugre thin, to-gidere beddeth. 
Hanlole (E. E. T. S-X 1. 1127. 
2. Of thee ; belonging to thee. Compare mine 1 , 2. 
Ich haue for-gyue the meny gultes and my grace graunted 
Bothe to the and to thyne in hope thow sholdest a mcnile. 
Pirn Plowman (C), iv. 135. 
0, if to flght for king and commonweal 
Were piety In thine, it is In these. 
SAo*., Tit. And., i. 1. 115. 
3. Belonging or pertaining to thee: in this 
sense a possessive, (a) Used predicatlvely. 
"Mi sone," heo sede, "hanethis ring, 
Whil he is thin w dute nothing 
That fur the brenne, lie adrenche se." 
King [torn (E. E. T. S.\ p. 51. 
A drope o( blode if atte thon tine 
We glf 3011 dome, the wrange is thine. 
Holy flood (E. E. T. 9.), p. 111. 
Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Mat vi. 18. 
"Take thou my robe," she said, "for all is thine." 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
(ft) Used attributively, with the forceof an adjective : com- 
monly preferred before a vowel to thy, and now used only 
In that situation. 
thing 
All.- thine castles 
Ich habbe we) tutored. 
13412. 
si then alle than other lymej lapped (ul clene, 
Thenne may thou se thy saujor .V his sete ryche. 
Alliterative Poem* (ed. Morris), 11. 175. 
Drink to me only with thin* eye*. B. Jonton, To Cella. 
Mine and thine, a uhnw not mi; tin- division of property 
among different owners, and Iniiiljing the right of indi- 
vidual ownership; mcum and tunin. 
Amonge them [Cubans] the lande Is as common as the 
sonne and water; And that Myne and Thyne (the teedes 
of all myscheefe) haue no jilao- ilh tln-m. 
Peter Martyr (tr. In Eden's First Books on America, ed. 
[Arber, p. 7s). 
I Thine, like thou, Is now used only in poetry, In solemn 
discourse, always In prayer, provlncially In England, and 
In the common language of the Friends. In familiar and 
- .minou language your and your* are always used In the 
singular number aa well as the plural.] 
thing 1 (thing), . [< ME. tliiixj, tliyng, < AS. 
thing, sometimes thincg, thine, a thing, also a 
cause, sake, office, reason, council, = OS. 
OFries. thing = D. ding = OHG. dine, MHG. 
iliin; (i.tlini/ = Icel. thing, a thing (rare), pi. 
articles, objects, things, valuables, jewels, also 
an assembly, meeting, parish, district, county, 
shire, parliament, = Sw. Dan. ting = Goth. 
'thigg (not recorded) ; cf. AS. deriv. thingian, 
make an agreement, contract, settle, compose 
(a quarrel), speak, = G. dingen, hold court, 
negotiate, make a contract (bedinqen, make 
conditions, stipulate) ; prob. related to Goth. 
iheihs (tor'ttiinhsl), time. L. tempos, time: see 
tense*, temporal 1 . For the development of 
sense, cf. AS. sacu (= G. sache, etc.), conten- 
tion, strife, suit, cause, case, thing (see sake 1 ) ; 
also L. rea, a cause, case, thing, L. causa, a 
cause, case, ML. and Horn. (It. coxa = F. chose), 
a thing. The sense 'a concrete inanimate ob- 
ject' is popularly regarded as the fundamental 
one, but a general notion such as that could 
hardly be original.] 1. That which is or may 
become the ooject of thought; that which has 
existence, or is conceived or imagined as having 
existence; any object, substance, attribute, 
idea, fact, circumstance, event, etc. A thing 
may be either material or ideal, animate or in- 
animate, actual, possible, or imaginary. 
The! gon gladly to Cypre, to reste hem on the Lond, or 
elles to bye thinau that thel have nede to here lyvynge. 
Mandenlle, Travels, p. 29. 
We were as glad of day lyght as euer we were of any 
thynge in all our lyues. 
Sir K. Guyl/orde, Pylgrymage, p. 73. 
Scripture indeed teacheth thinyt above nature, rAi/i< 
which our reason by Itself could not reach unto. 
Hooter, Eccles. Polity, ill. 8. 
Consider not the things of this life, which is a very 
Rrlson to all (iod's children, but the thin;t* of everlasting 
fe, which is our very home. 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 185SX H. 64. 
So prevalent a Thin-i Is Custom that there is no alter- 
ing of a Fashion that has once obtaln'd. 
A r . Bailey, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 371. 
He [Pepys] must always be doing something agreeable, 
and, by way of preference, two agreeable (Ai/iy at once. 
H. L. Stecfnson, Men and Kooks, p. 290. 
In more limited applications (a) A particular existence 
or appearance which is not or cannot be more definitely 
characterized ; a somewhat ; a something. 
What, has this Ikitvj appear 'd again to-night? 
5AoJr., Hamlet, i. 1. 21. 
A ihiwi which Adam had been pused to name ; 
Noah had refused it lodging in his ark. 
Pope., Satires of Donne, iv. 25. 
The round /Ai'n<7 upon the floor is a table upon which the 
dishes of their frugal meal were set. 
/;. Curznn, Monast. in the Levant, p. 84. 
(6) A living being : applied to persons or animals, either In 
admiration, tenderness, or pity, or in contempt : as, a poor 
sick tliin:i ; a poor foolish thing. 
For Floriz was so fair jonglini! 
And Blauncheflur so suete thin;i. 
Kiny Horn (E. E. T. S.X p. 71. 
Thing of talk, begone ! 
Begone, without reply. 
Ford, Broken Heart, II. 3. 
The poor thimj sighed, and, with a blessing, . . . turned 
from me. Addition, 
The seeming-Injured simple-hearted thing 
Came to her old perch back. 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
(<0 A material object lacking life and consciousness. 
He himself 
Moved haunting people, things, and places. 
Tennymm, Enoch Arden. 
Things differing In temperature, colour, taste, and smell 
agree in resisting compression, in filling space. Because 
of this quality we regard the wind as a thing, though It 
has neither shape nor colour, while a shadow, though it 
has both but not resistance. Is the very type of nothing. 
ness. J. Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX 57. 
(d) That which Is done ; an act, doing, undertaking, busi- 
ness, affair, etc. ; also, something which is to be done; a 
duty or task ; In the passage from Chaucer, below, in the 
plural, prayers or devotions. 
