elegant
/ˈɛləɡənt/ adjective, noun
Forms elegants
- adjective Characterised by or exhibiting elegance; having grace, refinement, or tasteful simplicity.
- adjective Characterised by minimalism and intuitiveness while preserving exactness and precision. “an elegant solution”
- adjective (Ireland, colloquial, archaic) Fine; doing well.
- noun An elegant parrot.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Late Middle English elegaunt, from Middle French elegant, ultimately from Latin ēlegāns, collateral form of present participle of ēligere, from ex- (“out of, from”) + legō (“choose, select, appoint”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Very choice, and hence, pleasing to good taste; characterized by grace, propriety, and refinement, and the absence of every thing offensive; exciting admiration and approbation by symmetry, completeness, freedom from blemish, and the like; graceful; tasteful and highly attractive; as, elegant manners; elegant style of composition; an elegant speaker; an elegant structure.
- adjective Exercising a nice choice; discriminating beauty or sensitive to beauty; as, elegant taste.
Etymology [L. elegans, -antis; akin to eligere to pick out, choose, select: cf. F. élégant. See Elect.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “elegant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details