Etymograph

English

weak

Weak comes from Middle English waik, from Old Norse veikr ‘weak, pliant’, from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz ‘pliable’, from *wīkwaną ‘to yield, fold’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃weyg-1‘to start moving’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃wéyg-we-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīkwaną1‘to yield, cease, fold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waikwaz1‘weak, soft, pliable’reconstructed
  5. Old Norsec. 800–1350veikr1‘pliant; weak’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waik1
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596weak1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English weak
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “Thy threats have no more strength than her weak…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃weyg-Wiktionary, English weak‘to start moving’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃wéyg-we-tiWiktionary, English weakreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wīkwanąWiktionary, English weak‘to yield, cease, fold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*waikwazWiktionary, English weak‘weak, soft, pliable’reconstructed
  5. Old Norsec. 800–1350veikrWiktionary, English weak‘pliant; weak’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waikWiktionary, English weak
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596weakWiktionary, English weak. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “Thy threats have no more strength than her weak…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- ‘to plait, twist, weave, wind’

with, wine, novel, wire, vinyl, iris, vine, vise, vino, vignette, vetch, 29 more

through Proto-Indo-European *weyg- ‘to bend, turn, wind’

week, wick, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *wīkwaną ‘to cease, fold, yield’

wicket

Today it means

adj Lacking in force (usually strength) or ability.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “weak”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃weyg- / weak

Shirt and support for this word