Link Centre Dictionary

meek

UK/miːk/ US/mik/ uncommon us

adjective

1.

humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness

  • “meek and self-effacing”
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2.

very docile

  • “tame obedience”
  • “meek as a mouse” Langston Hughes
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3.

evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant

  • “compliant and anxious to suit his opinions of those of others”
  • “a fine fiery blast against meek conformity” Orville Prescott
  • “she looked meek but had the heart of a lion”
  • “was submissive and subservient”
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Origin

From Middle English meek, meke, meoc, probably a borrowing from Old Norse mjúkr (“soft; meek”), from Proto-Germanic *meukaz, *mūkaz (“soft; supple”), from Proto-Indo-European *mewg-, *mewk- (“slick, slippery; to slip”); compare Old English smēag (“subtle, stealthy, etc.”) and smūgan. Cognate with Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk mjuk (“soft”), Norwegian Bokmål myk (“soft”), and Danish myg (“supple”), Dutch muik (“soft, overripe”), dialectal German mauch (“dry and decayed, rotten”), Mauche (“malanders”). Compare as well Welsh mwyth (“soft, weak”), Latin ēmungō (“to blow one's nose”), Tocharian A muk- (“to let go, give up”), Lithuanian mùkti (“to slip away from”), Ancient Greek μύσσομαι (mússomai, “to blow the nose”), Sanskrit मु॒ञ्चति॑ (muñcáti, “to release, let loose”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.