different between debile vs debility

English

Etymology

From Middle French débile (“weak”), from Latin debilis

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??b???/

Adjective

debile (comparative more debile, superlative most debile)

1. (obsolete) Weak; feeble.
   • about 1900, O. Henry, Hygeia at the Solito

     So, then, it was no surprise to the ranchhold when the buckboard spun to the door, and Raidler took up his debile protege like a handful of rags and set him down upon the gallery.

Anagrams

• belied, edible

German

Adjective

debile

1. inflection of debil:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin debilis. Compare debole.

Adjective

debile (plural debili)

1. (obsolete) weak

   Synonym: debole

Related terms

• debilità

Latin

Adjective

d?bile

1. nominative neuter singular of d?bilis
2. accusative neuter singular of d?bilis
3. vocative neuter singular of d?bilis

Polish

Noun

debile

1. nominative/vocative plural of debil

English

Etymology

From Middle English debylite, from Old French debilité (French débilité), from Latin d?bilit?s (“weakness”), from d?bilis (“weak”), from d?- + habilis (“able”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??b?l?ti/
• Rhymes: -?l?ti

Noun

debility (countable and uncountable, plural debilities)

1. A state of physical or mental weakness.
   • 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.

     As I was in a state of extreme debility, I resolved to sail directly towards the town, as a place where I could most easily procure nourishment.

     […]

     I was ready to sink from fatigue and hunger, but being surrounded by a crowd, I thought it politic to rouse all my strength, that no physical debility might be construed into apprehension or conscious guilt.

Related terms

• debile
• debilitate
• debilitation

Translations

Further reading

• debility in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• debility in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.