Noah Webster
Extenuate
EXTEN'UATE, verb transitive [Latin extenuo; ex and tenuo, to make thin.]
1. To make thin, lean or slender. Sickness extenuates the body.
2. To lessen; to diminish; as a crime or guilt.
But fortune there extenuates the crime.
3. To lessen in representation; to palliate; opposed to aggravate.
4. To lessen or diminish in honor. [Not used.]
5. To make thin or rare; opposed to condense. [Not used.]
EXTEN'UATE, adjective Thin; slender. [Not used.]