feeble
/ˈfiːbəl/ adjective, verb
Forms feebler feeblest feebles feebling feebled
- adjective Deficient in physical strength. “Though she appeared old and feeble, she could still throw a ball.”
- adjective Lacking force, vigor, or effectiveness in action or expression; faint. “That was a feeble excuse for an example.”
- verb (obsolete) To make feeble; to enfeeble.
Synonyms
weak infirm debilitated sickly faint lame decrepit debile rickety sapless weakly nerveless
Etymology
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.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Deficient in physical strenght; weak; infirm; debilitated.
- adjective Wanting force, vigor, or efficiency in action or expression; not full, loud, bright, strong, rapid, etc.; faint; as, a feeble color; feeble motion. "A lady's feeble voice." Shak.
- verb To make feble; to enfeeble. [Obs.]
Etymology [OE. feble, OF. feble, flebe, floibe, floible, foible, F. faible, L. flebilis to be wept over, lamentable, wretched, fr. flere to weep. Cf. Foible.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “feeble”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details