frail
Noun · AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (3)frailer, frailest
- physically weak“an invalid's frail body”Opposite robustSimilar light-boned, decrepitSee also delicate, unhealthy, weak
- wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings“I'm only a fallible human”“frail humanity”Synonyms: fallibleimperfectweakOpposite nonhumanSimilar human
- easily broken or damaged or destroyed“a kite too delicate to fly safely”“fragile porcelain plates”“fragile old bones”“a frail craft”Synonyms: delicatefragileOpposite unbreakableSimilar breakable
Noun (2)
- the weight of a frail (basket) full of raisins or figs; between 50 and 75 poundsType of weight unit, weight
- a basket for holding dried fruit (especially raisins or figs)Type of basket, handbasket
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. fraiel, fraile, OF. fraiel, freel, frael, fr. LL. fraellum.
A basket made of rushes, used chiefly for containing figs and raisins.
2. The quantity of raisins — about thirty-two, fifty-six, or seventy-five pounds, — contained in a frail.
3. A rush for weaving baskets. Dr. Samuel Johnson
Origin: OE. frele, freile, OF. fraile, frele, F. frêle, fr. L. fragilis. See Fragile.
1. Easily broken; fragile; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish; easily destroyed; not tenacious of life; weak; infirm.
That I may know how frail I am.— Ps. xxxix. 4.
An old bent man, worn and frail.— James Russell Lowell
2. Tender. obsolete
Deep indignation and compassion frail.— Edmund Spenser
3. Liable to fall from virtue or be led into sin; not strong against temptation; weak in resolution; also, unchaste; — often applied to fallen women.
Man is frail, and prone to evil.— Taylor, Jeremy
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54