debole

Forms

debole m or f by sense (plural deboli, superlative debolissimo)^[1] The older form debile is used from Dante to Parini.^[2][3] Old northern forms include Old Italian debele and Old Italian debel.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēbilis (“weak; crippled”).^[5][6][7][1] Prati says the word came late and by a literary route, and the LEI places the standard form among the learned ones; only Romagnol débul and a form on Elba continue the Latin word by popular sound change in Italy.^[3][2] Nocentini explains the ⟨o⟩ as assimilation to the preceding labial /b/, and Sabatini–Coletti as a Tuscan change of /i/ to a back vowel before /l/ in the middle syllable of a word stressed on the antepenult.^[6][8]

The popular outcome is also Old Occitan devol, and Catalan endeble and Spanish endeble come from a derivative.^[9][10] The learned word is French débile, Catalan dèbil and Spanish débil.^[6][2]

The Latin adjective is formed with dē- (“without”) on a noun for “strength” not found in Latin.^[6][11] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *dē-boli- (“without strength”) and a root Proto-Indo-European *bel- (“strength”), found in Sanskrit बल (bála, “strength”), Ancient Greek βελτίων (beltíōn, “better”) and Old Church Slavonic болии (bolii, “bigger, better”).^[11][6] Wiktionary notes an older proposal that links the adjective to dēbeō (“to owe”), as habilis goes with habeō.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian translation of the Pamphilus, about 1250, in the sense “lacking strength”.^[4][2] GRADIT dates the word to about 1274, and DELI's first example is in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, who tells how the Spartans gathered young and old and every other weak person (ogne altra debile persona) against the enemy.^[7][5][12]

Semantic evolution

The sense of moral weakness is recorded in Giordano da Pisa in 1303–1306, “faint, dim” of light or sound early in the 14th century, and “unconvincing” of an argument in Bartolomeo da San Concordio before 1347.^[5] Francesco da Barberino uses the adjective as a noun for a weak person before 1348.^[5]

The noun il debole, a person's weak side or foible, appears in Lorenzo Magalotti in 1668;^[5][8][2] Sabatini–Coletti and the LEI take it as a calque of French faible.^[5][8][2] Tommaseo quotes the saying ognuno ha il suo debole, everyone has a weak spot, and Carducci uses debole for a fondness for someone in 1898.^[13][5] The noun debolezza is as old as the adjective (Giamboni, before 1292), and French took it as debolesse in the 16th century.^[5][10]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – The Venetian Pamphilus translation uses the word.^[4]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses debile and debolezza.^[5]
• 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for moral weakness.^[5]
• Before 1347 – Bartolomeo da San Concordio uses it for a weak argument.^[5]
• Before 1348 – Francesco da Barberino uses it as a noun.^[5]
• 1668 – Magalotti uses il debole for a weak side of character.^[5]
• 1898 – Carducci uses debole for a fondness.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. weak, lacking physical strength: Dopo la febbre mi sento ancora debole.^[7][14][8]
2. Of an organ or faculty, not working fully: Ha la vista debole da anni.^[7][14][15]
3. Not sturdy; flimsy: una mensola troppo debole per tanti libri.^[7][14][15]
4. Faint, of low intensity: una debole luce dalla finestra.^[7][14][16]
5. (figurative) Unconvincing; of little artistic value.^[7][8][15]
6. Lacking firmness, resolve or authority: un governo debole.^[7][8][16]
7. Poor at a subject (with in): È sempre stato debole in chimica.^[7][15]
8. (linguistics, physics, finance) Weak, as in a weak conjugation, the weak interaction or a weak currency.^[8][16]

Noun

1. A weak person; the weak.^[8][1]
2. A weak point or foible; a soft spot for someone or something: Ha un debole per i dolci.^[1][13][5]

Word family

• debolezza
• debolmente
• indebolire
• indebolimento
• debilitare

Related words

• debile
• Latin debilis

Usage notes

Il sesso debole is a traditional, now ironic name for women, and il punto debole is a weak point.^[16][15] The opposite is forte.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 19, 414
3. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
4. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1219
11. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 57
13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana