English
weak
Weak comes from Middle English waik, from Old Norse veikr ‘weak, pliant’, from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz ‘pliable’, from *wīkwaną ‘to yield, fold’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃weyg-‘to start moving’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃wéyg-we-tireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīkwaną‘to yield, cease, fold’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waikwaz‘weak, soft, pliable’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350veikr‘pliant; weak’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waik
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596weak
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃weyg-‘to start moving’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃wéyg-we-tireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīkwaną‘to yield, cease, fold’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waikwaz‘weak, soft, pliable’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350veikr‘pliant; weak’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waik
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596weak
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “Thy threats have no more strength than her weak…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- ‘to plait, twist, weave, wind’
with, wine, novel, wire, vinyl, iris, vine, vise, vino, vignette, vetch, 29 more
through Proto-Indo-European *weyg- ‘to bend, turn, wind’
through Proto-Germanic *wīkwaną ‘to cease, fold, yield’
Today it means
adj Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃weyg- / weak