frail
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frail¹
- /fɹeɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English frele, fraill, from Old French fraile, from Latin fragilis. Cognate to fraction, fracture, and doublet of fragile.
adjective frailer · frailest
- Easily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish. Returne with ſpeed, time paſſeth ſwift away, Our life is fraile, and we may dye to day.
- Weak; infirm. Frail smoke of morning in the air and a sort of muffled hum that is not sound but is not silence either.
- In an infirm state leading one to be easily subject to disease or other health problems, especially regarding the elderly.
- Mentally fragile.
- Liable to fall from virtue or be led into sin; not strong against temptation; weak in resolution; unchaste.
noun frails
- A girl. She was the roughest, toughest frail, but Minnie had a heart as big as a whale.
verb frails · frailing · frailed
- To play a stringed instrument, usually a banjo, by picking with the back of a fingernail.
frail²
- /fɹeɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English frayel, from Old French frael, fraiel, of unknown origin; possibly a dissimilatory variant of flael, flaiel (“flail”).
noun frails
- A basket made of rushes, used chiefly to hold figs and raisins.
- The quantity of fruit or other items contained in a frail.
- A rush for weaving baskets.
frail³
- /fɹeɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
noun frails
- Synonym of farasola (“old unit of weight”).
frail⁴
- /fɹeɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
noun frails
- Synonym of flail. The scythe, the sickle and the flail (or "frail", is it is invariably called) - these should surely be incorporated in the county arms, for on their use much of the prosperity of Essex has always rested until now.
