Twiglike

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the thin, slender, branch-like shape or look of a small woody stem
2. Appearing slender and spindly in the manner of a small dry branch
3. Shaped or looking like a thin twig, often describing fragile or spindly forms

Etymology: "Twiglike" is about as plain as English compounds get: it joins "twig," a slender shoot growing off a branch, to the suffix "-like," which means "resembling" or "having the form of." The result describes anything thin, branching, or jointed in the manner of a twig, such as a stick insect's legs or a fine, bare-branched shrub. The word needs no hidden story, and its meaning follows directly from its parts. "Like" as a suffix has been used this way since Old English, so "-like" can be attached to almost any noun to describe its appearance, and "twiglike" is one of many such coinages that English speakers form on the spot when a comparison is needed.

Synonyms: twiggy, slender