Wordwyrt

supple

/ˈsʌpəl/SUH-puhl
/ˈsʌpəl/SUH-puhl

Meaningbending or submissive

Common meaning: flexible and easy to bend

‘under, up from below’ + ‘to fold’ → supple

Journey through time

  • sup — Latin sub- “under, up from below” (path traced)
  • ple — Latin plicare “to fold” (path traced)

Parts join in Latin as supplex.

  1. Latinsub- + plic‘under, up from below + to fold’source
  2. Latinsupplex‘bending or submissive’source
  3. Old Frenchsopliersource
  4. Frenchmeaning shiftsbending or submissive → flexiblesouple‘flexible’source
  5. Englishsupple‘flexible and easy to bend’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin supplex, which Skeat (Concise Dictionary, 1911) analyses as sub- ‘under, up from below’ + plic ‘to fold’.

Roots

Related words

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