Body-build and its inheritance

How it begins

If a hundred men of about the same stature be compared, it is seen that they vary greatly in weight. At the same time they vary in form, and especially in bulk. This variation is popularly recognized by the variety of terms applied to build. It may be of interest to pause a moment to consider popular terminology relating to build. We have, first, terms expressing a marked deviation below the normal build. We speak of persons as “slender,” “thin,” “gaunt,” “slim,” “slight,” “spare,” “lank,” and “spindling.” These terms are not exactly synonyms.