Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “frail” come from?

Frail comes from Old French fraile, from Latin fragilis meaning "easily broken," from Proto-Italic fragelis.

frail (English): Easily broken physically; not firm or durable;...

Definitions

  1. Easily broken physically; not firm or durable;...

Ancestry of “frail”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfrayel—

Words derived from “frail”

  • frailness
  • frailly
  • frailish
  • prefrail
  • frailsome
Every word from Middle English frayel →