meek

See also: Meek

English

Etymology

From Middle English meek, meke, meoc, a borrowing from Old Norse mjúkr (“soft; meek”), from Proto-Germanic *meukaz, *mūkaz (“soft; supple”), from Proto-Indo-European *mewg-, *mewk- (“slick, slippery; to slip”). Cognate with Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk mjuk (“soft”), and Danish myg (“supple”), Dutch muik (“soft, overripe”), dialectal German mauch (“dry and decayed, rotten”), Mauche (“malanders”). Compare also Old English smūgan (“to slide, slip”), Welsh mwyth (“soft, weak”), Latin ēmungō (“to blow one's nose”), Tocharian A muk- (“to let go, give up”), Lithuanian mùkti (“to slip away from”), Old Church Slavonic мъчати (mŭčati, “to chase”), Ancient Greek μύσσομαι (mússomai, “to blow the nose”), Sanskrit मुञ्चति (muñcati, “to release, let loose”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /miːk/
(General American) IPA^(key): /mik/
Rhymes: -iːk

Adjective

meek (comparative meeker, superlative meekest)

Humble, non-boastful, modest, meager, or self-effacing.
- 1848: Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
  Mrs. Wickam was a meek woman...who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else...
- "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)
Submissive, dispirited.
- 1920: Sinclair Lewis, Main Street
  What if they were wolves instead of lambs? They'd eat her all the sooner if she was meek to them. Fight or be eaten.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:humble

Translations

humble, modest, or self-effacing

Bulgarian: мек (bg) (mek), кротък (bg) (krotǎk)
Czech: skromný (cs) m, mírný (cs) m, pokorný m
Dutch: gedwee (nl), zachtmoedig (nl)
Finnish: nöyrä (fi)
French: humble (fr), modeste (fr)
German: sanftmütig, bescheiden (de), zaghaft (de), zurückhaltend (de), fromm (de), demütig (de), sanft (de), hold (de), lammfromm (de)
Greek: ταπεινός (el) m (tapeinós), σεμνός (el) m (semnós)
Hungarian: szerény (hu)
Indonesian: rendah hati (id)
Italian: modesto (it) m, timido (it), introverso (it), schivo (it), pavido (it)
Maori: māhaki, haki

Norwegian: blyg
Old Church Slavonic: кротъкъ (krotŭkŭ)
Persian: فروتن‎ (fa) (forutan)
Polish: cichy (pl) (biblical), pokorny (pl)
Portuguese: modesto (pt)
Romanian: umil (ro), modest (ro)
Russian: кро́ткий (ru) (krótkij), мягкий (ru) (mjaxkij)
Scottish Gaelic: macanta
Spanish: modesto m
Swedish: ödmjuk (sv)

submissive, dispirited

Czech: poddajný (cs) m, pokorný, mírný (cs) m, tichý (cs) m
German: unterwürfig, kleinlaut (de), widerstandslos (de), duldsam (de), ergeben (de), gottergeben (de)
Greek: πειθήνιος (el) m (peithínios)
Hungarian: alázatos (hu), beletörődő
Italian: rassegnato (it), remissivo (it)
Persian: سربه‌زیر‎ (sar-be-zir)

Portuguese: submisso (pt), manso (pt)
Romanian: supus (ro)
Russian: безро́потный (ru) (bezrópotnyj), поко́рный (ru) (pokórnyj)
Spanish: humilde (es), resignado (es), sumiso (es), manso (es), m
Swedish: undergiven (sv)

Verb

meek (third-person singular simple present meeks, present participle meeking, simple past and past participle meeked)

(US) (of horses) To tame; to break.

Translations

to tame, to break

German: zähmen (de)

Russian: укрощать (ru) impf (ukroščatʹ)