Weaken
/ˈwiːkən/noun
To make or become weak, less strong, or less effective.
Did you know?Weaken is built from Old English wāc, meaning “weak,” plus the verb-forming suffix -en, so its history is more about erosion than enchantment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weik-
“to bend, yield, or be pliant”
Old English
Anglo-Saxon
wāc
“weak, feeble, soft”
Old English
Anglo-Saxon
wacian
“to become weak or be weakened”
Middle English
English
weken
“to make or become weak”
Modern English
English
weaken
“to make or become weak or less strong”