English
feeblesome
Feeblesome comes from Middle English feble ‘Infirm, weak, or frail’, and goes back to Anglo-Norman feble.
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400feble
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Infirm, weak, or frail’
- English1500–presentfeeble
- Englishearliest quotation 1897feeblesome
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400feble
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Infirm, weak, or frail’
- English1500–presentfeeble
- Englishearliest quotation 1897feeblesome
Earliest quotation: 1897, Alfred Henry Lewis: “It ain't no cinch play that this female's deef,…”
A compound of feeble + -some
Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-
…
Latin fleō ‘to weep, cry’
Latin flēbilis ‘tearful, mournful, lamentable’
Anglo-Norman feble ‘weak, feeble’
Middle English feble ‘Infirm, weak, or frail’
English feeble
Every English word from Anglo-Norman feble
Today it means
adj Characterised or marked by feebleness; weak or faint.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Anglo-Norman feble / feeblesome