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.
例文
1. His hands were too weak to cock his revolver.
彼の手は力がなく、リボルバーの引き金を引くことができなかった。
2.Matt is weak and dependent,but you love him all the same.
マットは弱くて無能で依存性が強いが、私たちは彼を愛している。
3.Despite some artful editing，the anthology is a weak one.
編集上のいくつかの巧妙な点を除いて、この選集は優れていない。
4.Strong winds can turn boats when the tide is weak .
潮が小さいときは強風で船の進路を変えることができる。
5.The survey claims loan companies prey on weak families already in debt.