Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TRIM, a. [Sax. trum, firm, stable, strong, secure; tryman, getrymian, to make firm, to strengthen, to prepare, to order or dispose, to exhort, persuade or animate. The primary sense is to set, to strain, or to make straight.]

Firm; compact; tight; snug; being in good order. We say of a ship, she is trim, or trim-built; every thing about the man is trim. We say of a person, he is trim, when his body is well shaped and firm; and we say, his dress is trim, when it sits closely to his body and appears tight and snug; and of posture we say, a man or a soldier is trim, when he stands erect. It is particularly applicable to soldiers, and in Saxon, truma is a troop or body of soldiers.