Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Feebly |
FeeblyAdverb1. In a faint and feeble manner; "the lighthouse, flashing feebly against the sleet-blurred, rocky backdrop of the coast of north west Norway". 2. In a halting and feeble manner; "reform, in fact, is, rather feebly, on the win". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "feebly" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
Crosswords: Feebly |
| English words defined with "feebly": Dadle ♦ gutter ♦ Mump. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "feebly": eminently hydraulic lime ♦ FOLLY ♦ metallic luster ♦ Right Foot ♦ SCIMETAR. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Take that, he feebly said, and swear that it shall be delivered.Credit: Library of Congress. |  | A weak ticket in the field - and a weaker expected--If the Republicans have done feebly at Chicago, what may we expect of the Democrats at Cincinnati? / J.A. Wales.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | At last Jane began, and though the first bars were feebly given, the powers of the instrument were gradually done full justice to. |
Alice in Wonderland | Carroll, Lewis | An enormous puppy was looking down at her with large round eyes, and feebly stretching out one paw, trying to touch her. |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | He could not but recall how feebly, and with what frequent pauses for breath, he had toiled over the same ground, only two days before. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | It was heard distinctly, though feebly. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | And, repeating this several times, she fell to laughing feebly. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | SCIMETAR, n. A curved sword of exceeding keenness, in the conduct of which certain Orientals attain a surprising proficiency, as the incident here related will serve to show. The account is translated from the Japanese by Shusi Itama, a famous writer of the thirteenth century. When the great Gichi-Kuktai was Mikado he condemned to decapitation Jijiji Ri, a high officer of the Court. Soon after the hour appointed for performance of the rite what was his Majesty's surprise to see calmly approaching the throne the man who should have been at that time ten minutes dead! "Seventeen hundred impossible dragons!" shouted the enraged monarch. "Did I not sentence you to stand in the market-place and have your head struck off by the public executioner at three o'clock? And is it not now 3:10?" "Son of a thousand illustrious deities," answered the condemned minister, "all that you say is so true that the truth is a lie in comparison. But your heavenly Majesty's sunny and vitalizing wishes have been pestilently disregarded. With joy I ran and placed my unworthy body in the market-place. The executioner appeared with his bare scimetar, ostentatiously whirled it in air, and then, tapping me lightly upon the neck, strode away, pelted by the populace, with whom I was ever a favorite. I am come to pray for justice upon his own dishonorable and treasonous head." "To what regiment of executioners does the black-boweled caitiff belong?" asked the Mikado. "To the gallant Ninety-eight Hundred and Thirty-seventh -- I know the man. His name is Sakko-Samshi." "Let him be brought before me," said the Mikado to an attendant, and a half-hour later the culprit stood in the Presence. "Thou bastard son of a three-legged hunchback without thumbs!" roared the sovereign -- "why didst thou but lightly tap the neck that it should have been thy pleasure to sever?" "Lord of Cranes of Cherry Blooms," replied the executioner, unmoved, "command him to blow his nose with his fingers." Being commanded, Jijiji Ri laid hold of his nose and trumpeted like an elephant, all expecting to see the severed head flung violently from him. Nothing occurred: the performance prospered peacefully to the close, without incident. All eyes were now turned on the executioner, who had grown as white as the snows on the summit of Fujiama. His legs trembled and his breath came in gasps of terror. "Several kinds of spike-tailed brass lions!" he cried; "I am a ruined and disgraced swordsman! I struck the villain feebly because in flourishing the scimetar I had accidentally passed it through my own neck! Father of the Moon, I resign my office." So saying, he gasped his top-knot, lifted off his head, and advancing to the throne laid it humbly at the Mikado's feet. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Feebly" is generally used as an adverb (general) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Feebly" is used about 138 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adverb (general) | 100% | 138 | 27,024 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "feebly": feebly-mindedly. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
feebly | 5 |
concentrate feebly magnetic mineral ore | 3 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "feebly"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||
French | liant naturel faiblement plastique (feebly plastic soil binder). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
German | schwache (fecklessly, flimsy, languidly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Greek | ασθενικά. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | gyöngén, erőtlenül (languidly, shakily). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 力無' (dejectedly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ちからな' (dejectedly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | eeblyfay slab (adynamic, angular, bad, cold, cranky, crazy, dicky, dim, Dotty, dull, faint, faintly, feckless, feeble, female, flabby, flaccid, flat, fleshless, flimsy, footless, forceless, frail, gaunt, groggy, helpless, impotent, inner, jaded, jejune, languid, languishing, languorous, lax, lean, Lenten, light, loose, low, meager, meagre, mean, mild, milk and water, namby-pamby, nerveless, one horse, pale, peaked, penny-a-line, pimping, poor, poorly, powerless, quiet, remotely, rickety, scraggy, scrawny, shaky, sickly, silly, skinny, slack, slight, small, soft, sorry, spare, squeal, stringent, tender, thin, washy, weak, weakly). (various references) klent. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | gelide, infirmiter, remissius. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Matthew Chapter 12, Verse 20 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kalamon suntetrimmenon ou kateaxei kai linon tufomenon ou sbesei ewV an ekbalh eiV nikoV thn krisin |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Harundinem quassatam non confringet et linum fumigans non extinguet donec eiciat ad victoriam iudicium |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | To-cwyceð hreod he ne for-brett. & smekende flex he ne adwæscð. ær þam þehe awurpe dom to sige. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | A brisid rehed he shal not breke, and he schal not quenche smokynge flax, til he caste out doom to victorie; |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | A brosed rede shall he not breacke and flaxe that begynneth to burne he shall not queche tyll he sende forth iudgement vnto victory |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he shall send forth judgment to victory. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | The crushed stem will not be broken by him; and the feebly burning light will he not put out, till he has made righteousness overcome all. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Matthew Chapter 12, Verse 20 |
| Cebuano | Dili gani siya mobali bisan sa bagakay nga nabasag na, ni mopalong bisan sa pabilo nga nagakapid-ok na, hangtud padag-on na niya ang hustisya; |
| Croatian | trske stuèene prelomiti neæe, stijenja što tek tinja neæe ugasiti - sve dok do pobjede ne izvede pravo. |
| Danish | Han skal ikke sønderbryde det knækkede Rør og ikke udslukke den rygende Tande, indtil han får ført Retten frem til Sejr. |
| Dutch | Het gekrookte riet zal Hij niet verbreken, en het rokende lemmet zal Hij niet uitblussen, totdat Hij het oordeel zal uitbrengen tot overwinning. |
| Finnish | Särjettyä ruokoa hän ei muserra, ja suitsevaista kynttilänsydäntä hän ei sammuta, kunnes hän saattaa oikeuden voittoon. |
| French | Il ne brisera point le roseau cassé, Et il n`éteindra point le lumignon qui fume, Jusqu` ce qu`il ait fait triompher la justice. |
| German | das zerstoßene Rohr wird er nicht zerbrechen, und den glimmenden Docht wird er nicht auslöschen, bis daß er ausführe das Gericht zum Sieg; |
| Haitian Creole | Li p'ap fin kase pye wozo ki panche a. Li p'ap tenyen lanp ki prèt pou mouri a. L'ap fè sa konsa, jouk tan li va fè jistis Bondye a kanpe nèt. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Buluh yang terkulai tak akan dipatahkan-Nya pelita yang redup tidak akan dipadamkan-Nya. Ia akan berjuang sampai keadilan tercapai; |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Buluh yang terkulai tiada dipatahkan-Nya, dan sumbu yang sedang berasap itu pun tiada dipadamkan-Nya, sehingga ia mengeluarkan hukuman dengan jaya. |
| Italian | La canna infranta non spezzer , non spegner il lucignolo fumigante, finché abbia fatto trionfare la giustizia; |
| Manx Gaelic | Cuirtlagh vroojit cha jean eh y vrishey, as y bite giare-cheaut cha der eh ass, derrey ver eh magh briwnys ayns barriaght. |
| Maori | E kore e whatiia porokeretia e ia te kakaho i mangungu, e kore e tineia te muka e whakapaoa ana; kia puta ra ano i a ia te whakawa ki te wikitoria. |
| Norwegian | han skal ikke knuse et knekket rør og ikke slukke en rykende tande, før han har ført retten frem til seier. |
| Portuguese | Não esmagará a cana quebrada, e não apagará o morrão que fumega, até que faça triunfar o juízo; |
| Rumanian | Nu va frknge o trestie ruptq, wi nici nu va stinge un fitil care fumegq, pknq va face sq biruie judecata. |
| Russian | ФТПУФЙ ОБ"МПНМЕООПК ОЕ ЕТЕМПНЙФ, Й МШОБ ЛХТСЭЕЗПУС ОЕ ХЗБУЙФ, "ПЛПМЕ ОЕ "ПУФБЧЙФ УХ"Х П'Е"Щ; |
| Shuar | Akupin ajatsuk shuar pintiu punua Núnis pimpiru ainia nuna Kúpitsuk Yáintatui. Núnisan shuar ji yama Ikiapámu ainis kakarmachu ainia nuna ikiajniatsuk Ikiakártatui. Tura Ashí nupetak ti pénker kakaram akupin ajastatui. |
| Spanish | La caña cascada no quebrará, y la mecha que humea no apagará, hasta que saque a triunfo el juicio. |
| Swahili | Mwanzi uliopondeka hatauvunja, wala utambi ufukao moshi hatauzima, mpaka atakapoifanya hukumu ya haki itawale. |
| Swedish | Ett brutet rör skall han icke sönderkrossa, och en rykande veke skall han icke utsläcka, intill dess att han har fört rätten fram till seger. |
| Uma | Tauna to lente pepangala' -ra, uma-ra na'oho'. Natulungi-ra to ncaruku' mepangala'. Mobago ncuu-i duu' -na poparenta-na Alata'ala to monoa' rata hi dunia'. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Feebly" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Feagley, Fealy, Febry, Fereby, Filbey, foibly, fremblii. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "feebly" (pronounced fē"blē) |
| 3 | -b l ē | ably, admirably, amiably, amicably, appreciably, arguably, assembly, audibly, bubbly, charitably, comfortably, comparably, conceivably, considerably, credibly, creditably, demonstrably, doubly, equitably, fashionably, favorably, feasibly, flexibly, forcibly, formidably, glibly, honorably, horribly, humbly, immeasurably, impeccably, imperceptibly, implausibly, impossibly, improbably, incomparably, incredibly, indelibly, indisputably, inevitably, inexorably, inexplicably, inextricably, inseparably, interchangeably, interminably, intolerably, invariably, irreparably, irresistibly, irresponsibly, irretrievably, irreversibly, irrevocably, justifiably, knowledgeably, measurably, memorably, miserably, nimbly, nobly, notably, noticeably, ostensibly, palpably, passably, peaceably, plausibly, possibly, predictably, preferably, presumably, probably, profitably, reasonably, reassembly, recognizably, regrettably, reliably, remarkably, respectably, responsibly, sensibly, subassembly, suitably, superbly, terribly, trembly, unacceptably, unaccountably, unalterably, unavoidably, unbearably, unbelievably, uncomfortably, uncontrollably, undeniably, understandably, unequivocably, unfavorably, unjustifiably, unmistakably, unpredictably, unquestionably, unreasonably, unseasonably, visibly. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-e-e-f-l-y" | |
-1 letter: beefy. | |
-2 letters: beef, eely, feel, flee, fley. | |
-3 letters: bee, bel, bey, bye, eel, elf, eye, fee, fey, fly, lee, ley, lye. | |
-4 letters: be, by, ef, el, ye. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-e-e-f-l-y" | |
+1 letter: beefily. | |
+4 letters: defensibly, defrayable, preferably. | |
+5 letters: barefacedly, butterflyer, farkleberry. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)46 65 65 62 6C 79 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)..-. . . -... .-.. -.--. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000110 01100101 01100101 01100010 01101100 01111001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)F e e b l y |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0046 0065 0065 0062 006C 0079 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)407171687891 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Photo Album | 5. Quotations: Fiction 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Usage Frequency 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Translations: Ancient 12. Bible Trace | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Orthography | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
