feeble

adj
/ˈfiːbəl/

Etymology

Etymology tree Anglo-Norman feblebor. Middle English feble English feeble From Middle English feble, from Anglo-Norman feble (“weak, feeble”) (compare French faible), from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”) by dissimilation, from fleō (“to weep, cry”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-. Doublet of foible.

  1. derived from *bʰleh₁-
  2. derived from flēbilis
  3. derived from feble
  4. inherited from feble

Definitions

  1. Deficient in physical strength.

    • Though she appeared old and feeble, she could still throw a ball.
    • Pent up in Utica he vainly forms A poor Epitome of Roman Greatneſs, And, cover’d with Numidian Guards, directs A feeble Army, and an empty Senate, Remnants of mighty Battels fought in vain.
    • You've had your time Gonna walk that line Like a living travesty, Endlessly bound to your sins I'll hunt you down in time You're just a feeble swine How can I compromise When all you do is deny
  2. Lacking force, vigor, or effectiveness in action or expression

    Lacking force, vigor, or effectiveness in action or expression; faint.

    • That was a feeble excuse for an example.
  3. To make feeble

    To make feeble; to enfeeble.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at feeble. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01feeble02physical03medicine04cure05solution06solid07plasma08fibrin09whitish10pale

A definitional loop anchored at feeble. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at feeble

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA