gracility

[Lat. gracilitas, from gracilis =slender.] Slenderne , smallne . "Reduced to little more than a third of its original gratia = favor, grace; Ital. grazioso; Sp. & Port. gracioso.] 1. Endowed with grace; well-disposed, affable, kind. "He was a gracious master, a trusty ally, a terrible enemy."- Macaulay : Hist . Eng . , ch. xiii. 2. Exhibiting or characterized by grace, kindne , favor, or friendline ; kind, friendly. "The stalks he gave her With a gracious gesture." Long fellow: Musician's Tale , xvi. 3. Full of grace, mercy, or benevolence; merciful, benevolent, beneficent, benignant. "And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compa ion on them."-2 Kings xiii. 23. 4. Exhibiting or characterized by grace, mercy, or benevolence; merciful. "The call of Abraham from a heathen state, represents the gracious call of Christians to forsake the wickedne of the world." - Gilpin: Sermons, vol. ii., scr. 16. *5. In a state of heavenly grace; virtuous. "Kings are no le unhappy, their i ue not being gra cio us than they are in losing them when they have approved their virtues."- Shakesp .: Winter's Tale , iv. 2. *6. Acceptable; finding favor or grace; agreeable. "Is he gracious in the people's eyes?" Shakesp.: Henry VI., Pt. III . , iii. 3. • gracious sermon. *9. Happy, fortunate, prosperous, favorable. "Gracious be the i ue." Shakesp.: Winter's Tale , iii. 1. ful. 10. Graceful, attractive, elegant, comely, beaut i Shakesp .: Sonnet 62. "No face so gracious is as mine." (1) Gracious is used as a mild oath or interjection. "Married! O, my gracious ! Just think of the creature's talking about it!"-Mrs. H. B. Stowe : Dred , ch. xi. (2) Crabb thus discriminates between gracious , merciful, and kind : " Grace is exerted in doing good to an object that has merited the contrary; mercy is exerted in withholding the evil which has been merited. God is gracious to His creatures in affording them not only an opportunity to addre Him, but every encouragement to lay open their wants to Him; their unworthine and sinfulne are not made impediments of acce to Him. God is merciful to the vilest of sinners, and lends an ear to the sin all est breath of repentance; in the moment of executing vengeance He stops His arm at the voice of supplication; He expects the same mercy to be extended by man toward his offending brother. Gracious, when compared with kind , differs principally as to the station of the persons to whom it is applied. Gracious is altogether confined to superiors; kind is indiscriminately employed for superiors and equals." ( Crabb : Eng . Synon .) grā-cio us-ly, *gra-cio us-liche, *gra-cyously, gra-cyous-lye, adv . [Eng.gracious; -ly .] 1. In a gracious manner; with kindne , affability, or friendline . "The brave adventures of this faery knight, The good Sir Guyon, graciously to heare.' *2. Virtuously, holily. Spenser: F. Q., II. (Introd.) "Graciously to know I am no better." Shakesp.: Measure for Measure , ii. 4. grā-cio us-ne , s. [Eng. gracious; -ne .] 1. The quality or state of being gracious, favorable, merciful, kind, or benignant; kind condescension. "The graciousne and temper of this answer made no impre ion on them; but they proceeded in their usual manner."-Clarendon: Civil War, i. 325. *2. The quality or state of being acceptable; acceptability. "Then it is [when a sinner repents] that our ble ed Lord feels the fruits of his holy death, the acceptation of his holy sacrifice, the graciousne of his person, the return of his prayers." - Bp . Taylor: Sermons, vol. i., ser. 1. grăc-kle, s. [Lat. graculus =a jackdaw; from the sound made by the bird.] A bird of the genus Gracula (q. v.).