weak
英 [wiːk]
美[wik]
- adj. [经] 疲软的；虚弱的；无力的；不牢固的
词态变化
比较级: weaker;最高级: weakest;
中文词源
weak 瘦弱
来自PIE*weik,弯，转，词源同week,wench.引申义柔软的，没有力量的，瘦弱的。
英文词源
- 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.
双语例句
- 1. His hands were too weak to cock his revolver.
- 他的手没劲儿，扳不动左轮手枪的扳机。
来自柯林斯例句
- 2. Matt is weak and dependent, but you love him all the same.
- 马特软弱无能且依赖性强，但我们照样爱他。
来自柯林斯例句
- 3. Despite some artful editing, the anthology is a weak one.
- 除了编辑上的一些巧妙之处，这本选集乏善可陈。
来自柯林斯例句
- 4. Strong winds can turn boats when the tide is weak.
- 潮水小的时候强风可以让船只改变航向。
来自柯林斯例句
- 5. The survey claims loan companies prey on weak families already in debt.
- 这项调查声称信贷公司专对那些已经负债的弱势家庭下手。
来自柯林斯例句