In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
FRAIL
delicate, fragile, frail
(adjective) easily broken or damaged or destroyed; “a kite too delicate to fly safely”; “fragile porcelain plates”; “fragile old bones”; “a frail craft”
fallible, frail, imperfect, weak
(adjective) 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”
frail
(adjective) physically weak; “an invalid’s frail body”
frail
(noun) a basket for holding dried fruit (especially raisins or figs)
frail
(noun) the weight of a frail (basket) full of raisins or figs; between 50 and 75 pounds
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
frail (comparative frailer, superlative frailest)
Easily broken physically; not firm or durable; liable to fail and perish
Weak; infirm.
Mentally fragile.
Liable to fall from virtue or be led into sin; not strong against temptation; weak in resolution; unchaste.
Noun
frail (plural 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.
(dated, slang) A girl.
Verb
frail (third-person singular simple present frails, present participle frailing, simple past and past participle frailed)
To play a stringed instrument, usually a banjo, by picking with the back of a fingernail.
Anagrams
• filar, flair
Source: Wiktionary
Frail, n. Etym: [OE. fraiel, fraile, OF. fraiel, freel, frael, fr. LL. fraellum.]
Definition: 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. Johnson.
Frail, a. [Compar. Frailer; superl. Frailest.] Etym: [OE. frele, freile, OF. fraile, frele, F. frĂŞle, 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. Lowell.
2. Tender. [Obs.] Deep indignation and compassion. 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. Jer. Taylor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
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