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foible - 5 dictionary results

foi⋅ble

  [foi-buhl]
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–noun
1. a minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw or defect: an all-too-human foible.
2. the weaker part of a sword blade, between the middle and the point (opposed to forte ).
Origin:
1640–50; < F, obs. form of faible feeble

Synonyms:
1. frailty, quirk, crotchet, eccentricity, peculiarity. See fault.

Antonyms:
1. strength.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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foi·ble   (foi'bəl)   
n.  
  1. A minor weakness or failing of character.
  2. The weaker section of a sword blade, from the middle to the tip.

[Obsolete French foible, weak point of a sword, weak, from Old French feble, weak; see feeble.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Foible

Foi"ble\, a. [OF. foible. See Feeble.] Weak; feeble. [Obs.] --Lord Herbert.

Foible

Foi"ble\, n. 1. A moral weakness; a failing; a weak point; a frailty.

A disposition radically noble and generous, clouded and overshadowed by superficial foibles. --De Quincey.

2. The half of a sword blade or foil blade nearest the point; -- opposed to forte. [Written also faible.]

Syn: Fault; imperfection; failing; weakness; infirmity; frailty; defect. See Fault.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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foible 
1648, "weak point of a sword blade" (contrasted to forte), from Fr. foible (adj.) "weak," from O.Fr. foible "feeble," dissimilated from L. flebilis (see feeble). Extended sense of "weak point of character" is first recorded 1673.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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