Frail
/freɪl/noun
Easily broken or damaged; delicate.
Did you know?In medieval times, frailty was often linked to moral weakness, suggesting that physical delicacy mirrored spiritual or ethical deficiencies.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰreg-
“to break or shatter”
Latin
Latin
fragilis
“easily broken, delicate”
Old French
Old French
fraile
“weak, delicate”
Middle English
Middle English
frail
“easily broken, weak”
Modern English
English
frail
“delicate, weak, easily damaged”