weak

英 [wi?k] 美[wik]

反義詞

CET4TEM4考研CET6中高頻詞基本詞匯

比較級:?weaker;最高級:?weakest;

weak 瘦弱

來自PIE*weik,彎，轉(zhuǎn)，詞源同week,wench.引申義柔軟的，沒有力量的，瘦弱的。

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.

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。

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。

4. Strong winds can turn boats when the tide is weak.: 潮水小的時候強風(fēng)可以讓船只改變航向。

5. The survey claims loan companies prey on weak families already in debt.: 這項調(diào)查聲稱信貸公司專對那些已經(jīng)負(fù)債的弱勢家庭下手。