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supple - 6 dictionary results
sup⋅ple
[suhp-uh
l] 
adjective, -pler, -plest, verb, -pled, -pling.–adjective
| 1. | bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed; pliant; flexible: a supple bough. |
| 2. | characterized by ease in bending; limber; lithe: supple movements. |
| 3. | characterized by ease, responsiveness, and adaptability in mental action. |
| 4. | compliant or yielding. |
| 5. | obsequious; servile. |
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
| 6. | to make or become supple. |
Origin:
1250–1300; (adj.) ME souple flexible, compliant < OF: soft, yielding, lithe < L supplic- (s. of supplex) submissive, suppliant, equiv. to sup- sup- + -plic-, variously explained as akin to plicāre to fold 1 , bend (thus meaning “bent over”; cf. complex ), or to plācāre to placate (thus meaning “in the attitude of a suppliant”); (v.) ME supplen to soften, deriv. of the n. (cf. OF asoplir)
1250–1300; (adj.) ME souple flexible, compliant < OF: soft, yielding, lithe < L supplic- (s. of supplex) submissive, suppliant, equiv. to sup- sup- + -plic-, variously explained as akin to plicāre to fold 1 , bend (thus meaning “bent over”; cf. complex ), or to plācāre to placate (thus meaning “in the attitude of a suppliant”); (v.) ME supplen to soften, deriv. of the n. (cf. OF asoplir)
Related forms:
sup⋅ple⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To supple
| sup·ple (sŭp'əl) adj. sup·pler, sup·plest
To make or become supple. [Middle English souple, from Old French, from Latin supplex, suppliant; see plāk-1 in Indo-European roots.] sup'ple·ness n., sup'ply, sup'ple·ly adv. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Supple
Sup"ple\, a. [OE. souple, F. souple, from L. supplex suppliant, perhaps originally, being the knees. Cf. Supplicate.]1. Pliant; flexible; easily bent; as, supple joints; supple fingers. 2. Yielding compliant; not obstinate; submissive to guidance; as, a supple horse. If punishment . . . makes not the will supple, it hardens the offender. --Locke. 3. Bending to the humor of others; flattering; fawning; obsequious. --Addison. Syn: Pliant; flexible; yielding; compliant; bending; flattering; fawning; soft.Supple
Sup"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Suppled; p. pr. & vb. n. Suppling.]1. To make soft and pliant; to render flexible; as, to supple leather. The flesh therewith she suppled and did steep. --Spenser. 2. To make compliant, submissive, or obedient. A mother persisting till she had bent her daughter's mind and suppled her will. --Locke. They should supple our stiff willfulness. --Barrow.Supple
Sup"ple\, v. i. To become soft and pliant. The stones . . . Suppled into softness as they fell. --Dryden.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : supple
Spanish:
flexible,
German:
geschmeidig,
Japanese:
しなやかな
supple
1297, from O.Fr. souple "pliant, flexible," from Gallo-Romance *supples, from L. supplex (gen. supplicis) "submissive, humbly begging," lit. "bending, kneeling down," thought to be an altered form of *supplacos "humbly pleading, appeasing," from sub "under" + placare "appease" (see placate).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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