Wordwyrt

weakness

/ˈwiknəs/WEEK-nuhs
/ˈwiknəs/WEEK-nuhs

Meaningthe state of being weak

Common meaning: lack of strength

Other meanings: a fault

Journey through time

  1. Old Norse (Icelandic)veikr‘weak, pliant’source
  2. Middle Englishweiksource
  3. Englishweak‘feeble, lacking strength’
  4. Englishformed in English from weakweakness‘lack of strength’ · 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: Formed in English from weak + -ness.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), WEAK, p.699 · scan

Source words

  • veikr Old Norse (Icelandic) · source word “pliant, yielding”

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