weak
英[wi?k]
美[wik]
- adj. [經] 疲軟的；虛弱的；無力的；不牢固的
詞態變化
比較級:?weaker;最高級:?weakest;
中文詞源
weak 瘦弱
來自PIE*weik,彎，轉，詞源同week,wench.引申義柔軟的，沒有力量的，瘦弱的。
英文詞源
- weak
- weak: [13] Etymologically, something that is weak is ‘bendable’. The word was borrowed from Old Norse veikr. This was descended from prehistoric Germanic *waikwaz, which also produced German weich and Dutch week ‘soft’. And this in turn was formed from *waikw-, *wikw- ‘give way, yield’, a derivative of the base *wik- ‘bend’, which also produced the witch of English witch hazel [16] (etymologically the hazel with ‘bendy’ branches) and possibly English week.
- weak (adj.)
- c. 1300, from Old Norse veikr "weak," cognate with Old English wac "weak, pliant, soft," from Proto-Germanic *waikwa- "yield" (cognates: Old Saxon wek, Swedish vek, Middle Dutch weec, Dutch week "weak, soft, tender," Old High German weih "yielding, soft," German weich "soft"), from PIE root *weik- (4) "to bend, wind" (see vicarious).
Sense of "lacking authority" is first recorded early 15c.; that of "lacking moral strength" late 14c. In grammar, denoting a verb inflected by regular syllabic addition rather than by change of the radical vowel, from 1833. Related: Weakly. Weak-kneed "wanting in resolve" is from 1870.
雙語例句
- 1. His hands were too weak to cock his revolver.
- 他的手沒勁兒，扳不動左輪手槍的扳機。
來自柯林斯例句
- 2. Matt is weak and dependent, but you love him all the same.
- 馬特軟弱無能且依賴性強，但我們照樣愛他。
來自柯林斯例句
- 3. Despite some artful editing, the anthology is a weak one.
- 除了編輯上的一些巧妙之處，這本選集乏善可陳。
來自柯林斯例句
- 4. Strong winds can turn boats when the tide is weak.
- 潮水小的時候強風可以讓船只改變航向。
來自柯林斯例句
- 5. The survey claims loan companies prey on weak families already in debt.
- 這項調查聲稱信貸公司專對那些已經負債的弱勢家庭下手。
來自柯林斯例句