English
weakness
Weakness comes from Middle English weyknesse ‘Weakness, debility’, from weyk ‘weak’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to bend, wind’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-‘to bend, wind’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waikwaz‘weak, soft, pliable’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350veikr‘pliant’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weyk‘weak’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500weyknesse‘Weakness, debility’
- Englishearliest quotation 1963weakness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyk-‘to bend, wind’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waikwaz‘weak, soft, pliable’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350veikr‘pliant’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500weyk‘weak’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500weyknesse‘Weakness, debility’
- Englishearliest quotation 1963weakness
Earliest quotation: 1963, Margery Allingham, Eye Witness: “The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which…”
Formed from weak + -ness
Proto-Indo-European *h₃weyg- ‘to start moving’
…
Proto-Germanic *wīkwaną ‘to yield, cease, fold’
Proto-Germanic *waikwaz ‘weak, soft, pliable’
Old Norse veikr ‘pliant; weak’
Middle English waik
English weak
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyk- ‘to bend, wind’
victory, victim, province, convince, victor, icon, conviction, witch, wicked, wo, convict, invincible, eviction, vicar, wight, evict, vanquish, wile, ancona, waw, 33 more
through Middle English weyk ‘weak’
Today it means
noun The condition of being weak.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyk- / weakness