From Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.

thinne Middle English þynne Old English *þunnī Proto-West Germanic *þunnuz Proto-Germanic *ténh₂us Proto-Indo-European

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# thin

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /θɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 2714

## Meanings
1. Having a small distance between opposite surfaces; not thick.
2. Having little fat on the body; slim.
3. Watery in consistency; not thick.
4. Not growing closely together; sparse.
5. Weak or unconvincing; lacking substance.

## Examples
- I used a thin wire to tie the parts together.
- He looked thin and tired after his illness.
- The soup was thin and tasteless.
- His hair was getting thin on top.
- His excuse for being late sounded rather thin.

## Synonyms
- diffuse
- narrow
- runny
- scrawny
- skinny
- slender
- slim
- sparse
- svelte
- waifish
- watery

## Antonyms
- thick

## Derived Forms
- gossamer-thin
- paper-thin
- pencil-thin
- rail-thin
- razor-thin
- stick-thin
- thin-bladed
- thin-film
- thin-skinned
- thin-skinnedness
- thin-slice
- thin-slicing

## Related Forms
- thinness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: thinne
- Root: þynne
- Root: *þunnī
- Root: *þunnuz
- Root: *ténh₂us

## Etymology
From Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.

## AI Etymology
Thin is from Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Describing Qualities

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