faible

See also: Faible

French

Alternative forms

• (Early Modern) foible

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French foible, from Old French feble, foible, from Vulgar Latin *febilis, dissimilated form of Latin flēbilis. Doublet of flébile, a borrowing. Compare English feeble.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛbl/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛbl
• Homophone: faibles

Adjective

faible (plural faibles)

1. weak

   Antonym: fort

   faible d'esprit ― feeble-minded

   point faible ― weak spot

   sexe faible ― weaker sex

   maillon faible ― weakest link

   interaction faible, interaction nucléaire faible ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. low, small (amount, degree, percentage)

   dans une faible mesure ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

• affaiblir
• faiblement

Related terms

• faiblesse

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: fèb

Noun

faible m (plural faibles)

1. weakness, soft spot (for someone/something)

   J'ai un faible pour Schubert. ― I have a soft spot for Schubert.

2. weakling, weak person

   Antonym: fort

Descendants

• → English: foible
• → German: Faible

Further reading

• “faible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• fiable