different between weak vs petty

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English pety, from Old French peti, petit. Doublet of petit. The disparaging meaning developed over the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?ti/
• Homophone: Petty
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [?p???i]
  • Homophones: Petty, pedi
• Rhymes: -?ti

Adjective

petty (comparative pettier or more petty, superlative pettiest or most petty)

1. (obsolete except in set phrases) Little, small, secondary in rank or importance.

   petty officer, petty cash
2. Insignificant, trifling, or inconsiderable.

   a petty fault
3. Narrow-minded, small-minded.

4. Begrudging in nature, especially over insignificant matters.

   That corporation is only slightly pettier than they are greedy, and they are overdue to reap the consequences.

Synonyms

• (little, unimportant): See Thesaurus:insignificant
• (begrudging): grudgeful, grudging

Antonyms

• (little): See Thesaurus:big
• (begrudging): See Thesaurus:kindly
• (small-minded): broad-minded

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• quibble

Noun

petty (plural petties)

1. (usually in the plural, obsolete) A little schoolboy, either in grade or size.
2. (historical) A class or school for young schoolboys.
3. (dialect, euphemistic) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.

Synonyms

• (school for young schoolboys): ABC, petty school
• (class for young schoolboys): petty form
• (outhouse): See Thesaurus:outhouse

See also

• Petty France

References

• "petty, adj. and n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary (2005), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• “petty”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• petty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• petty in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• pötty

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?p?c?]
• Hyphenation: petty
• Rhymes: -?c?

Noun

petty (plural pettyek)

1. dot, spot, fleck, speck

   Synonyms: folt, pont, paca, pecsét, csepp, (on the face) szepl?

Derived terms

(Expressions):

• hétpettyes katicabogár (“seven-spot[ted] ladybird/ladybug”)

Declension

Further reading

• petty in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmez? szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: ?ISBN