American Dictionary of the English Language

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Elegant


EL'EGANT, adjective [Latin elegans.] Polished; polite; refined; graceful; pleasing to good taste; as elegant manners.

1. Polished, neat; pure; rich in expressions; correct in arrangement; as an elegant style or composition.

2. Uttering or delivering elegant language with propriety and grace; as an elegant speaker.

3. Symmetrical; regular; well formed in its parts, proportions and distribution; as an elegant structure.

4. Nice; sensible to beauty; discriminating beauty from deformity or imperfection; as an elegant taste. [This is a loose application of the word; elegant being used for delicate.]

5. Beautiful in form and colors; pleasing; as an elegant flower.

6. Rich; costly and ornamental; as elegant furniture or equipage.