feble

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”) by dissimilation, from fleō (“to weep”) (akin to fluō (“to flow”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈfeb.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈfe.ble]

Adjective

feble m or f (masculine and feminine plural febles)

1. 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, 2024
• “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.

Franco-Provençal

Adjective

feble (Old Dauphinois)

1. Alternative form of fêblo (“weak”)

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “flēbilis”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 3: D–F, page 615

Galician

Etymology

Attested since 1370. Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese febre, borrowed from Old Occitan feble or Old French feble, from Vulgar Latin *fēbelis, from Latin flēbilis (“tearful, mournful, lamentable”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛble/ [ˈfɛ.β̞lɪ]
• Rhymes: -ɛble

Adjective

feble m or f (plural febles)

1. feeble; weak

   Synonym: débil

   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, 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

   • 1934, Vicente Risco, Mitteleuropa:

     Non istá lonxe, Rankestrasse; mais com'o vehículo non vai á présa, podolle coller o gusto no meio da baraúnda que m'axorda e m'impón. Endexamais me sintín tan extranxeiro nen tan badoco, doorosamente badoco dista volta, polo feble que m'achaba d'esprito.

     Rankestrasse is not far away; but, given that the vehicle is not going fast, I can appreciate the hubbub that deafens and impress me. Never in my life have I felt so estranger and rustic, painfully rustic this time because of how feeble my spirit felt.

2. soft

   Synonyms: mol, suave

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “febre”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “febre”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “feble”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “feble”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Ido

Etymology

febla (“weak”) +‎ -e

Adverb

feble

1. weakly, dimly, faintly, feebly, lightly, mildly

Middle English

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Anglo-Norman feblebor.

Middle English feble

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)

1. Feeble, weak, or strengthless:
   1. Infirm, weak, or frail; lacking physical strength or capability.
   2. Cowardly, nervous, overcautious; lacking willpower.
   3. Unfaithful, unbelieving; lacking religious confidence.
   4. Unthinking, unwise; lacking mental acuity.
   5. Ineffective, weak; lacking power, strength, or magnitude.
   6. Easily damaged, broken, or bent; lacking sturdiness or robustness.
2. Insidious, iniquitous; morally wrong or erroneous.
3. Of bad quality, design, or keeping; shoddily constructed or maintained.
4. Sad, grieving (because of misfortune or bad luck)
5. (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

1. 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)

1. 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)

1. 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
• 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 m or f (masculine and feminine plural febles)

1. feeble

   Synonym: débil

Further reading

• “feble”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28