- svelte (adj.)
- "slender, lithe," c.1817, from French svelte "slim, slender," from Italian svelto "slim, slender," originally "pulled out, lengthened," from past participle of svellere "to pluck or root out," from Vulgar Latin *exvellere, from Latin ex- "out" (see ex-) + vellere "to pluck, stretch."