adjective
also svelt ˈsfelt, ˈsve-
( -er/-est )
Etymology: French, from Italian svelto, from past participle of svellere to pull out, stretch out, modification (influenced by s-, from Latin ex- ex- (I)) of Latin evellere to pull out, from e- ex- (I) + vellere to pull — more at vulnerable
1.
a. : slender , trim , lithe
her figure is svelte
she … looked … very svelte in a trim dark suit — Morris Gilbert
a darting minnow with its svelte shadow beneath it — C.E.Craddock
b. : having clean lines : smooth , sleek
svelte knitted bathing suits — Fortune
2. : urbane , sophisticated , suave
has spoken in his usual svelte accents — Nathaniel Peffer
this is cold praise … and if there were no more to say we should have here only another svelte artist of the deep freeze — Dudley Fitts
a svelte monthly magazine … for Italians all over the world — Horace Sutton