Etymologically
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fragile

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɹæd͡ʒaɪl/ (UK); /ˈfɹæd͡ʒəl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from fragility, influenced by Middle French fragile, or a direct borrowing of the French,[2][3] from Latin fragilis (“easily broken”),[2][3][4] from the root of frangō (“to break”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”).[3] It is a doublet of frail.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Morally weak, liable to sin: 1513 in Barnhart and the OED (fragyll), the 1510s in Etymonline;[2][5][3] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1521.[6]

Semantic evolution

Easily broken is first recorded in Shakespeare's Timon of Athens (1607),[2][5] and the New Oxford dates it to the mid-16th century.[7] Of a person, frail or delicate in health, it is from 1858.[2][3][5] Fragile goods, fragiles, is from 1882.[5]

Timeline

  • 1513 – morally weak.[2][5]
  • 1607 – easily broken.[2][5]
  • 1858 – of frail constitution.[2][3]
  • 1882 – fragiles, fragile goods.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Easily broken or damaged; delicate.
  2. Weak in health or emotionally; frail.
  3. Slight or tenuous: a fragile peace.

Word family

  • fragilely
  • fragility
  • nonfragile
  • unfragile
  • fragile X syndrome
  • fractal
  • fraction
  • fractional
  • fracture
  • frail
  • frailty
  • frangible
  • fragment

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press