feble
Catalan
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”) by dissimilation, from fleō (“I weep”) (akin to fluō (“to flow”)).
Adjective
feble (masculine and feminine plural febles)
- weak, feeble
- Synonym: dèbil
- Antonym: fort
Derived terms
- feblement
- feblesa
- interacció nuclear feble
Descendants
- → Spanish: feble
Further reading
- “feble” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “feble”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “feble” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “feble” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Galician
Etymology
Attested since 1370 (febre). Borrowed from Old Occitan feble or Old French feble, from Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈfɛβlɪ]
Adjective
feble m or f (plural febles)
- feeble; weak
- 1370, R. Lorenzo (ed.), Crónica troiana. A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 613:
- tu coydas que nós somos molleres mãsas et febres cõmo son as outras, et sabe que nós nõ somos taes
- you think that we are meek and feeble women, as the others, but you must know that we are not such
- tu coydas que nós somos molleres mãsas et febres cõmo son as outras, et sabe que nós nõ somos taes
- Synonym: débil
- 1370, R. Lorenzo (ed.), Crónica troiana. A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 613:
- soft
- Synonyms: mol, suave
References
- “febre” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
- “febre” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
- “feble” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
- “feble” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
Ido
Etymology
febla (“weak”) + -e
Adverb
feble
- weakly, dimly, faintly, feebly, lightly, mildly
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Anglo-Norman feble, from Latin flēbilis.
Alternative forms
- ffebill, fyeble, fieble, febul, febill, feeble, febele, febel, febyl
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfeːbəl/, /ˈfeːblə/
Adjective
feble (plural and weak singular feble, comparative feblere, superlative feblest)
- Feeble, weak, or strengthless:
- Infirm, weak, or frail; lacking physical strength or capability.
- Cowardly, nervous, overcautious; lacking willpower.
- Unfaithful, unbelieving; lacking religious confidence.
- Unthinking, unwise; lacking mental acuity.
- Ineffective, weak; lacking power, strength, or magnitude.
- Easily damaged, broken, or bent; lacking sturdiness or robustness.
- Insidious, iniquitous; morally wrong or erroneous.
- Of bad quality, design, or keeping; shoddily constructed or maintained.
- Sad, grieving (because of misfortune or bad luck)
- (rare, money) Having a low precious metal content.
Antonyms
- strong
Derived terms
- febilte
- feblen
- feblenesse
- feblesse
- feblischen
- febly
- overfeble
Descendants
- English: feeble
- Scots: feeble
References
- “fēble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-08-18.
Etymology 2
From Anglo-Norman *feblir.
Verb
feble
- Alternative form of feblen
Occitan
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”) by dissimilation.
Pronunciation
Audio (Béarn) (file)
Adjective
feble m (feminine singular febla, masculine plural febles, feminine plural feblas)
- weak, feeble
- Synonym: debil
Derived terms
- feblesa
- febletat
Old French
Alternative forms
- fieble, foible
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”) by dissimilation.
Adjective
feble m (oblique and nominative feminine singular feble)
- weak; feeble
Derived terms
- feblesce
Descendants
- → Middle English: feble, ffebill, fyeble, fieble, febul, febill, feeble, febele, febel, febyl
- English: feeble
- Scots: feeble
- Middle French: foible
- French: faible (obsolete foible)
- → English: foible
- French: faible (obsolete foible)
- Norman: faibl'ye (Jersey)
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Catalan feble, from Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈfeble/ [ˈfe.β̞le]
- Rhymes: -eble
- Syllabification: fe‧ble
Adjective
feble (plural febles)
- feeble
- Synonym: débil
Further reading
- “feble”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014