different between sapless vs weak

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?sæpl?s/

Etymology

sap +? -less

Adjective

sapless (comparative more sapless, superlative most sapless)

1. (of a plant) Lacking in sap.
   • 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind,” III, in Prometheus Unbound, with Other Poems, London: C. & J. Ollier, pp. 191-192,^[1]

     […] Thou

     For whose path the Atlantic’s level powers

     Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below

     The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear

     The sapless foliage of the ocean, know

     Thy voice, and suddenly grow grey with fear,

     And tremble to despoil themselves: O, hear!

   • 1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Elsie Venner, Boston: Ticknor & Fields, Volume I, Chapter 13, p. 234,^[2]

     Below, all their earthward-looking branches are sapless and shattered, splintered by the weight of many winters’ snows; above, they are still green and full of life, but their summits overtop all the deciduous trees around them, and in their companionship with heaven they are alone.

2. (figuratively, of a person etc.) Lacking vivacity.
   • 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 5,^[3]

     O young John Talbot! I did send for thee

     To tutor thee in stratagems of war,

     That Talbot’s name might be in thee revived

     When sapless age and weak unable limbs

     Should bring thy father to his drooping chair.

   • 1633, George Herbert, “Nature” in The Temple, 5th edition, Cambridge University, 1638,^[4]

     O smooth my rugged heart, and there

     Engrave thy rev’rend Law and fear:

     Or make a new one, since the old

     Is saplesse grown,

     And a much fitter stone

     To hide my dust, then thee to hold.

Anagrams

• passels

English

Etymology

From Middle English weyk, wayk, weik, waik, from Old Norse veikr (“weak”), from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz (“weak, yielded, pliant, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to bend, wind”). Cognate with Old English w?c (“weak, bendsome”), Saterland Frisian wook (“soft, gentle, tender”), West Frisian weak (“soft”), Dutch week (“soft, weak”), German weich (“weak, soft”), Norwegian veik (“weak”), Swedish vek (“weak, pliant”), Icelandic veikur (“bendsome, weak”). Related to Old English w?can (“to yield”). Doublet of week and wick. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• enPR: w?k, IPA^(key): /wi?k/
• Rhymes: -i?k
• Homophone: week

Adjective

weak (comparative weaker, superlative weakest)

1. Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.
   • weak with hunger, mad with love

2. Unable to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain.

3. Unable to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable.
   • 1703, Nicholas Rowe, The Fair Penitent Act I, scene I:

     Guard thy heart / On this weak side, where most our nature fails.

4. Dilute, lacking in taste or potency.

5. (grammar) Displaying a particular kind of inflection, including:
   1. (Germanic languages, of verbs) Regular in inflection, lacking vowel changes and having a past tense with -d- or -t-.
   2. (Germanic languages, of nouns) Showing less distinct grammatical endings.
   3. (Germanic languages, of adjectives) Definite in meaning, often used with a definite article or similar word.
6. (chemistry) That does not ionize completely into anions and cations in a solution.

7. (physics) One of the four fundamental forces associated with nuclear decay.
8. (slang) Bad or uncool.

9. (mathematics, logic) Having a narrow range of logical consequences; narrowly applicable. (Often contrasted with a strong statement which implies it.)
10. Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
11. Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained.
12. Lacking in vigour or expression.

13. Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble.
14. (stock exchange) Tending towards lower prices.

15. (photography) Lacking contrast.

Synonyms

• (lacking in force or ability): feeble, frail, powerless, vincible, assailable, vulnerable
• (lacking in taste or potency): dilute, watery
• See also Thesaurus:weak

Antonyms

• (lacking in force or ability): healthy, powerful, robust, strong, invincible
• (lacking in taste or potency): potent, robust, strong
• (chemistry: that does not ionize completely): strong

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Wake, wake, weka

West Frisian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /v???k/

Adjective

weak

1. (Clay) soft

Inflection

Alternative forms

• wêk (Wood)

Further reading

• “weak (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011