Weak (wēk), a.
[Compar. Weaker (-ẽr);
superl. Weakest.] [OE. weik, Icel.
veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible,
pliant, AS. wāc weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G.
weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel.
vīkja to turn, veer, recede, AS. wīcan to yield,
give way, G. weichen, OHG. wīhhan, akin to Skr.
vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn,
Gr. e'i`kein to yield, give way. √132. Cf. Week,
Wink, v. i. Vicissitude.]
1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically:
--
(a) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm;
sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.
A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old
man.
Shak.
Weak with hunger, mad with love.
Dryden.
(b) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure,
or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.
(c) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or
separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.
(d) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the
weak stalk of a plant.
(e) Not able to resist external force or onset;
easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak
fortress.
(f) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not
sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.
A voice not soft, weak, piping, and
womanish.
Ascham.
(g) Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with
the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing
substances; of less than the usual strength; as, weak tea, broth, or
liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of
medicine.
(h) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or
office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak
magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.
2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual,
logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically: -
(a) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking
vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.
To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak
mind and captious temper.
Beattie.
Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there
were two Gods.
Waterland.
(b) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of
judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
If evil thence ensue,
She first his weak indulgence will accuse.
Milton.
(c) Not having full confidence or conviction; not
decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to
doubtful disputations.
Rom. xiv. 1.
(d) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency,
persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible;
vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue.
Guard thy heart
On this weak side, where most our nature fails.
Addison.
(e) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as,
weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty.
(f) Not having power to convince; not supported by
force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or
case. "Convinced of his weak arguing." Milton.
A case so weak . . . hath much persisted
in.
Hooker.
(g) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a
weak sentence; a weak style.
(h) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be
prevalent; not potent; feeble. "Weak prayers."
Shak.
(i) Lacking in elements of political strength; not
wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are
essential to a ruler or nation; as, a weak monarch; a weak
government or state.
I must make fair weather yet awhile,
Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong.
Shak.
(k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower
prices; as, a weak market.
3. (Gram.) (a) Pertaining
to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past
participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or
the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed;
abate, abated; deny, denied; feel,
felt. See Strong, 19 (a).
(b) Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-
Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19
(b).
☞ Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining
compounds; as, weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted,
weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like.
Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation
of weak verbs; -- called also new, or regular, conjugation, and
distinguished from the old, or irregular,
conjugation. -- Weak declension (Anglo-
Saxon Gram.), the declension of weak nouns; also, one of the
declensions of adjectives. -- Weak side, the
side or aspect of a person's character or disposition by which he is most
easily affected or influenced; weakness; infirmity. -- Weak
sore or ulcer (Med.), a sore covered
with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.