English → Latin
“lean” in Latin
exīlissmall, thin, slender; lank, meagre, feeble, inadequate; of the sound l, palatalizedmacerlean, skinny, meager; thin, poorgracilisslender, slim, thin; meager, scanty, lean; unadorned, simpletenuisthin, slender, slim, lank; especially; fine, rare, thin; pure, clear, not coarse; weak, feeble, tenuousobedōto eat, eat away, or devour; to waste away or become leanmacēscōto become thin, lean; to become meagre; to wither (of plants)acclīnōto lean or rest on or against something; to incline to something, lean towardsacclīvisrising, ascending; sloping (upward), uphill; steep (hill)applicōto apply; to add, attach, join to; to steer, bring, land
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
lean adj.
exilis (applicable to any material body, as thin, poor, weak; opposed to uber): macer (dry, lean; opposed to pinguis; especially of animal bodies). (The words are found in this connection and order.) macer et exilis: gracilis (thin, especially of animal bodies: opposed to opimus, obesus): tenuis (thin, applicable to bodies of any kind; opposed to crassus). OBS., exilis and macer relate to thinness with reference to poverty of internal substance; gracilis and tenuis have reference sto external form, either indifferently or with praise (the last two are thin rather than lean). To grow lean, macescere, emacescere: to make lean, facere maciem: to make anybody lean, facere (ut) macrescat aliquis: somewhat lean, macilentus: a lean and hungry soil, solum sterile, exile, or aridum: an extremely lean man, homo vegrandi macie torridus (Cic.).
lean v.
TRANS., to cause anything to recline against another, acclinare, applicare aliquid alicui rei or ad aliquid: to lean a ladder against a wall, scalas ad murum applicare.
INTRANS., to slope, fastigatum esse: acclivem or declivem esse: to lean against anything, acclinari alicui rei, se acclinare alicui rei, ad or in aliquid, applicari, or se applicare alicui rei, or ad aliquid: to lean upon, alicui rei, or in aliquid, or in aliquo inniti, alicui rei or in aliquid incumbere (to support one’s self on anything); reclinari in aliquid (to lean with one’s back against or on anything): to lean upon a staff, baculo incumbere, inniti: to lean upon the elbows, in cubitum inniti: to lean upon anybody, se acclinare in aliquem (Ov., Met., 5, 72); niti aliquo, inniti in aliquem.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for lean?
- The usual Latin words for “lean” are exīlis, macer, gracilis; also tenuis, obedō, macēscō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.