Thinnest

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈθɪnəst/

Definitions

1. The expression indicates the degree to which something is minimized in thickness within a group of comparable items
2. It describes the quality of being the most lacking in bulk or substance relative to similar objects
3. Possessing the smallest measurement from one surface to the opposite among similar items

Etymology: "Thinnest" is an inflected form: the superlative of "thin," meaning the one with the least thickness among a group of things. The superlative ending "-est" is a very old English device, so the form is as ancient as the adjective itself. "Thin" goes back to Old English "þynne," which descended from a Proto-Germanic root "*þunnuz," itself rooted in the idea of stretching or spreading out. That sense of being stretched wide and therefore less dense is the heart of the word. Its relatives are strikingly widespread: German "dünn," Dutch "dun," Swedish "tunn," and Russian "тонкий" (tonkij) all mean the same thing, and the Latin "tenuis" is a doublet, meaning the two words came into English by different routes from one common ancestor. English "tenuous," meaning flimsy or slight, comes from that same Latin line.

Synonyms: slimmest, skinny, leanest, narrowest, slenderest

Antonyms: thickest, heaviest, fattest, broadest, widest