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supplest

 - 2 dictionary results

sup⋅ple

  [suhp-uhl] adjective, -pler, -plest, verb, -pled, -pling.
Use supplest in a Sentence
–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)

Related forms:
sup⋅ple⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To supplest
sup·ple   (sŭp'əl)   
adj.   sup·pler, sup·plest

  1. Readily bent; pliant.

  2. Moving and bending with agility; limber.

  3. Yielding or changing readily; compliant or adaptable. See Synonyms at flexible.

tr. & intr.v.   sup·pled, sup·pling, sup·ples
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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