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foible

noun
/ˈfɔɪbəl/

Etymology

1640–50, from Early Modern French foible (“feeble”) (contemporary French faible). Doublet of feeble.

  1. borrowed from foible

Definitions

  1. A quirk, idiosyncrasy, frailty, or mannerism

    A quirk, idiosyncrasy, frailty, or mannerism; an unusual habit that is slightly strange or silly.

    • Try to look past his foibles and see the friendly fellow underneath.
    • He knew that this was like the sudden impulse of a madman—incongruous even with his habitual foibles.
    • Marguerite Blakeney was, above all, a woman, with all a woman’s fascinating foibles, all a woman’s most lovable sins.

  2. A weakness or failing of character.

    • Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived unspotted by the world, free from human foibles, able to redeem mankind by his example.

  3. Part of a sword between the middle and the point, weaker than the forte.

  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. Weak

      Weak; feeble.

      • The good Fencing-maſters, in France eſpecially, when they preſent a Foyle or Fleuret to their Scholars, tell him it hath two Parts, one of which he calleth the Fort or ſtrong, and the other the Foyble or weak […]

The neighborhood

Derived

foibled

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at foible. 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.

01foible02strange03odd04rest05relaxation06healthy07conducive08encourage09courage10frailty

A definitional loop anchored at foible. 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 foible

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