Flaccid
/ˈflæk.sɪd/noun
Limp, soft, or lacking firmness.
Did you know?Flaccid comes from Latin flaccidus, from flaccus, meaning “limp” or “drooping,” a brutally physical word that survived almost unchanged into English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plak-
“to be flat, spread out, or slack”
Latin
Latin
flaccus
“limp, drooping, weak”
Latin
Latin
flaccidus
“flabby, soft, flabby-limbed”
Late Middle English
English
flaccide
“slack, limp”
Modern English
English
flaccid
“limp, soft, or lacking firmness”
Explore more surprising origins