meekadj.n.

Brit.

/miːk/, U.S.

/mik/

Forms: Middle English make (perhaps transmission error), Middle English mec ( Ormulum), Middle English mekerst (superlative), Middle English mekerste (superlative), Middle English meoc ( Ormulum), Middle English meok, Middle English meoke, Middle English meyk, Middle English mieke, Middle English moeke, Middle English muk, Middle English muke, Middle English myke, Middle English–1500s mek, Middle English–1500s meke, Middle English–1600s meeke, Middle English– meek, 1500s myck; also Scottish pre-1700 meak, pre-1700 meik, pre-1700 meike, pre-1700 mek, pre-1700 meke, pre-1700 meyk, pre-1700 meyke.

Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian.

Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic mjúkr soft, pliant, gentle, Old Swedish miuker soft, pliant, gentle (Swedish mjuk supple, lithe), Danish myg supple, lithe), cognate with (from a different ablaut grade) early modern Dutch muik (Dutch meuk soft), German regional (Low German) muck soft, German regional (Swiss) mauch soft, rotten, and the first element in Gothic muka-modei meekness (and perhaps further cognate with Middle Dutch mūke (Dutch muik ), Middle Low German mūke , Middle High German mūche (German Mauke , German regional (Bavaria) Mauche ) all in sense ‘a disease affecting the hooves of horses’); probably < the same Germanic base as muck n.¹The Middle English forms with eo, oe, u are typical of south-western England and the west midlands; the spellings imply a mid to high front rounded vowel (the normal reflex in this region of the Old English eo diphthong is a mid front rounded vowel usually spelt eo). All the attested forms indicate that the word was borrowed before the characteristic Scandinavian shifting of stress (from falling to rising) in diphthongs.

A. adj.

†1. Gentle, courteous, kind. Of a social superior: merciful, compassionate, indulgent. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > [adjective]

stillc825

tamec888

nesheOE

mildeOE

softOE

lithea1000

daftc1000

methefulOE

sefteOE

meekc1175

benign1377

pleasablea1382

mytha1400

tendera1400

unfelona1400

mansuetea1425

meeta1425

gentlec1450

moy1487

placablea1522

facile1539

effeminate1594

silver1596

mildya1603

unmalicious1605

uncruel1611

maliceless1614

tender-hefteda1616

unpersecutive1664

baby-milda1845

rose water1855

turtlish1855

unvindictive1857

soft-boiled1859

tenderful1901

soft-lining1967

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2501 Eȝȝþerr [sc. Mary and Joseph] wass wiþþ oþerr mec.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 412 Haue here þis bold barn & be til him meke.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 12254 (MED) Newe þy shryfte euer ylyke, hyt makeþ Iesu cryst to þe meke [v.r. myke].

c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. i. 150 Þeiȝ ȝe ben miȝty to mote beþ meke of ȝour werkis.

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 190 Be meke and lowe the pore man to.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 390 Quhen he wes blyth he wes lufly And meyk and sweyt in cumpany.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 318/2 Meke pityfull, clement.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 215 Jason..Þat so mighty & meke & manly art holdyn.

1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. M.iii^v Then, for our loue, good hope were not to seek: I mought say with myself, she will be meek.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 115 The Lord is meik, and mercyfull is he.

1610 Bible (Douay) II. Psalms lxxxv. Comm. He is meeke to remitte offences.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 258 I am meeke and gentle with these Butchers.

2. Humble, submissive; frequently collocated with mild.

a. Not proud or self-willed; piously humble; patient and unresentful under injury or reproach; (esp. of a woman) demure, quiet.Frequently connoting the gentleness (esp. towards the weak, the humble, and the poor) consonant with a Christian virtue; cf. post-classical Latin mansuetus (Vulgate), Hellenistic Greek πρᾶος (New Testament). Use of meek as a noun is predominantly in this sense: see branch B.The distinction between this and sense A. 2b is not always clear, since more or less similar qualities of meekness have often been regarded as laudable in certain contexts (as in Christian humility, or, formerly, in women's or servants' characters) but as weak or effeminate in others.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective] > as a Christian virtue

meekc1175

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 668 Godess enngell iss full meoc. & milde. & soffte. & bliþe.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 103 Ðeos milde, meoke meiden.

c1300 St. Edward Elder (Laud) 14 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 47 He [sc. Edward the Martyr] was meoke and milde inouȝ.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxi. 5 Loo! thi kyng cometh to thee, homly [glossed] or meke, sittynge on an asse.

c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: 2 Tim. (Selwyn) (1904) iii. 4 Incontynent, noȝ[t] muke [L. immites], with-outen benygnyte.

1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) xxii. sig. Eiv^v/2 He that is not meke, is proude.

a1500 (c1380) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 460 Crist..was porerste man of lif & mekerste & moost vertuous.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Dii With a clene herte & meke spirit.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Pet. iii. 4 A meke & a quyete sprete.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 33 Patience vnmou'd, no maruel though she pause, They can be meeke, that haue no other cause.

1645 J. Milton Lycidas (rev. ed.) in Poems 82 In the blest Kingdoms meek of joy and love.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 266 His words here ended, but his meek aspect Silent yet spake.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 267 A proud character was never a meek one.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. viii. 64 ‘God is good to me,’ said the lady, raising her meek eyes.

1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board & Down II. 158 Bold bad men far outnumber the meek ones of the earth.

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist iii. 129 No longer the meek Jesus of Nazareth,..He is seen now coming upon the clouds, in great power and majesty.

1935 ‘R. West’ Celebration ii. ii. 172 The gospel story and the blood of the martyrs had fixed the character of the Christian Church as meek.

1980 W. M. Spackman Presence with Secrets iii. iii. 105 A couple of stanzas of what I took to be, from their tone of meek piety and general theological smarm, some Quaker poet or another.

b. Humble, submissive (occasionally with †to). Esp. (depreciative): inclined to submit tamely to oppression or injury, easily imposed upon or cowed, timid, biddable.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective]

heanc825

daftc1000

edmedec1000

edmodc1000

edmodeda1175

sheepishc1175

deftc1220

edmodi?c1225

lowc1225

humblec1250

beienlichc1275

buxoma1300

meekc1325

benign1377

lowlya1382

contemptiblec1384

pridelessc1395

humil1488

low-down1548

unproud1570

demiss1572

unpuffed1577

afflicted1590

unselfdelicious1605

cottagely1653

unselfvaluing1668

simplified1721

demissivea1763

stateless1844

maiden-meek1847

vanityless1854

patronizable1884

the mind > emotion > calmness > meekness or mildness > [adjective]

stillc825

tamec888

mildeOE

lithea1000

daftc1000

meekc1325

lambishc1374

meeklyc1375

benign1377

temperatec1380

quieta1382

gall-lessa1398

mansuetea1425

meeta1425

unwrathful1542

rageless1578

lamb-like?1592

mildya1603

milky1602

pigeon-livered1604

placid1614

spleenless?1615

passive1616

unprovokable1646

milken1648

uncaptious1661

stomachless1727

unindignant1789

pianoa1817

ireless1829

unquarrelsome1830

quiet-goinga1835

uncholeric1834

unoffendable1839

baby-milda1845

quiet-tempered1846

turtlish1855

pathic1857

society > authority > subjection > obedience > submissiveness > [adjective] > in unfavourable sense

meekc1325

tame1563

slavish1565

slink1792

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6868 Þe king was mek & milde ynou, & as þe bissopes him bade Wolde is moder do al out.

c1395 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 141 Hir meke prayere and hir pitous cheere.

c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. x. 83 (MED) Dred is such a maister Þat he makiþ men meke & mylde of here speche.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 1747 Made to be meke malegreue his chekis.

a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 179 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 304 Be not to meke, but in mene þe holde, For ellis a fole þou wylle be tolde.

1536 R. Beerley Let. in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 34 My lowly and myck scrybulling.

1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) ii. 142 Than every man gaif Will a mok, And said he wes our meik.

c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) 953 Hee had..imade all þe menne meeke too his wyll.

1677 J. Crowne Destr. Jerusalem i. iv. i. 41 To my own goodness I am made a Prey; I am too meek, too ready to obey!

1686 Love's Posie xxvii. 151 Instead of taming and rendring me meek and tractable with it, you put me into Arms and Battel-array against it.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 236 When I have ask'd thee, Meek-ones, half a dozen Questions together, I suppose thou wilt answer them all at once!

1778 Tailors ii. iv. 30 What, I suppose you'd have Some meek insipid thing, with folded arms, Would stand or curt'sy, and say yes, or no, As you would have her.

1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. i. 11 The boy..was of a meek and yielding temper.

1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 92 I hate Your meek and milky girls that dare not kiss A burning passion, clinging to your lips.

1933 S. Lewis Ann Vickers xxxviii. 454 They want to boss a gang of meek yes-women.

1987 P. Lomas Limits of Interpretation xii. 138 It is not his business to coerce his patient into meek conformity; but neither is he justified in preaching revolution.

c. In extended use, esp. of flowers: not obtrusively conspicuous, unassuming, modest.Some examples at sense A. 2a may arguably belong here, and vice versa.

ΚΠ

1744 J. Warton Enthusiast 7 The thousand-colour'd Tulip, Violet's Bell Snow-clad and meek, the Vermil-tinctur'd Rose.

1751 M. Mendez Seasons 6 The meek Violet, in amis Blue, Creeps low to Earth, and hides from public View.

1800 S. T. Coleridge Poems 356 Since Laura murmur'd o'er thy leaves..To thee, meek Flowret! gentler gales and cloudless skies belong.

1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xlii. 487 Some little children..were climbing a meek and lowly manure-pile.

1933 W. de la Mare Fleeting & Other Poems 101 Meek harebell hung her head Over the green-turfed chalk.

1988 B. Sterling Islands in Net (1989) ii. 35 She favored gray corduroy skirts and longsleeve blouses in meek beiges and duns.

3. Of an animal: tame, domesticated, docile; not fierce. (In early use esp. common in Scottish)

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > domestic animal > [adjective]

tamec888

mildOE

meekc1175

privy1340

unwilda1400

familiar1483

gentle?1531

domestical1562

inward1575

inwards1575

housal1611

domestic1620

cicurated1646

domesticated1802

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [adjective] > tamed or trained

tamec888

mildOE

meekc1175

unwilda1400

chastisedc1440

reclaimed1440

made1474

familiar1483

gentle?1531

domestical1562

inward1575

inwards1575

housal1611

domestic1620

cicurated1646

domiciliated1782

domesticated1802

broken1805

hand-tamed1932

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1313 Lamb iss soffte. & stille deor. & meoc. & milde & liþe.

a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Mek Douf a ful mec fuel es.

c1480 (a1400) St. George 278 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 184 He folouyt hyre as it had bene þe mekeste quhelpe wes euir sene.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 166 The meik pluch ox.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 240 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 102 Thir ar na fowlis of reif..Bot mansweit..manerit & meike.

1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades iv. 63 Then Troians in their wals Had bene infolded like meeke Lambs, had Ioue winckt at their fals.

1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xvii. §19. 382 A Dove, a meek and gall-lesse creature.

1767 F. Fawkes tr. Theocritus Idylliums i. 12 Meek heifers, patient cows, and gentle steers, Moan'd at his feet, and melted into tears.

1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles & St. James (new ed.) xx, in Writings I. 210 The drudged horse stood meek and passive in the field.

1872 C. D. Warner Saunterings 202 I like to select the meek, patient, diminutive little donkeys, with enormous panniers that almost hide them.

1994 Nature 24 Feb. 684/2 The puzzling mammalian example of the similar appearances of meek little insect-eating aardwolves and ferocious big lion-killing hyenas also comes to mind.

4. Of an object, substance, the weather, etc.: weak, lacking strength or violence; mild, gentle, soft, light; †supple, pliant (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > not harsh or gentle

meekc1230

nesha1250

tender1340

softa1398

sober1455

gentle1508

silken1601

milken1648

rose water1837

paddy1962

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 214 Ower schon i winter beon meoke. greate & warme.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 215 A meoke surpliz ȝe mahen in hat sumer werien.

?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 383 Amonge alle þe spices..of þe lepra, þe spices leonina and elephancia ben werste..; The oþer forsoþe ben softer and meker maters.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ii. 6 It was in the monethe of Maye, whan the waters be peaseable and meke.

1564 P. Moore Hope of Health ii. xii. 49 Then must that superfluous humour be pourged out..with a meke medicine.

1683 J. Mason Spiritual Songs xxiii. 51 The Three, when Christ did make the Fourth, Found Fire as meek as Air.

1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 225 Venus..with a quiet which no fumes disturb, Sips meek infusions of a milder herb.

1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance xlv A meek, gray, autumnal day.

1832 W. C. Bryant Poems (new ed.) 172 When woods begin to wear the crimson leaf, And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief.

1992 New Yorker 20 July 1 (advt.) Certainly not the sort of guy too likely to settle for some meek car with an anemic little powerplant.

1993 Toronto Life July 81/2 This dish meek, that one scorching.

5. Proverbial phrases (chiefly in senses A. 1 and A. 2), as as meek as a lamb (also a maid, etc.), as meek as Moses, etc.

ΚΠ

c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 260 He þat was woned to be Meke as a lomb, ful of pite.

c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3202 He was..lyk a mayden meke for to see.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 1243 In tym off pes mek as a maid was he.

a1617 J. Melville Mem. Own Life (1827) 25 He was humble, gentill and meak lyk a lamb in the house.

1743 R. Blair Grave 28 The shrill-tongu'd Shrew, Meek as the Turtle-Dove, forgets her Chiding.

1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss I. i. xii. 232 Mr Glegg,..though a kind man..was not as meek as Moses.

1906 W. Woods Billy the Kid in America's Lost Plays (1940) VIII. 217 I went into Pete's place as meek as a kitten.

1933 E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! iv. iii. 151 I ran into him upstreet this afternoon and he was meek as pie.

1985 W. Horwood Callanish 71 He made himself as meek as a lamb, hoping perhaps that they would give him an extra morsel of food.

B. n.

With plural agreement. Now usually with the: meek people as a class. Frequently with allusion (sometimes ironic) to Matthew 5:5 (see quot. 1535).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > [noun] > humble people

meekc1175

submiss1737

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9613 Drihhtin hateþþ modiȝ mann & lufeþþ alle meke.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke i. 52 He puttide doun myȝty men fro seete, and enhaunside meke.

?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 28 Liȝt..is vp spronngen, & meke loweli ben vphaunsid.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Matt. v. 5 Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 96 Till slay the meik and Innocent.

c1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xxv. vi The meeke he doth in judgment leade.

1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 70 Feroce and belluine men [shal cohabit] with the meek and placable.

1802 B. Porteus Lect. Gospel St. Matt. I. vi. 138 These [blessings], I apprehend, are the peculiar portion and recompence of the meek.

1876 J. Ellis Caesar in Egypt 158 Thou that dost..Subdue the stern, and suscitate the meek.

1939 L. MacNeice Autumn Jrnl. iii. 18 I shall..make the world my sofa, Unzip the women and insult the meek.

1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 15 Feb. 365/1 ‘I came, I saw and I concurred’ may be a handy rule to get ahead in the committee hierarchy, but it is compromise without spine. The meek shall inherit mediocrity.

Compounds

C1. Chiefly parasynthetic adjectives.

meek-heartedness n.

ΚΠ

1849 D. Rock Church our Fathers II. 309 In her meek-heartedness, the royal Ædilthryda desired, and was buried in a wooden coffin.

meek-browed adj.

ΚΠ

1859 Bentley's Misc. 46 359 Overladen cattle and meek-browed beasts of burden.

1914 E. W. Wilcox Poems of Hope 97 So let who will erect an altar shrine To meek-browed Constancy, and sing her praise.

meek-eyed adj.

ΚΠ

1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn iii, in Poems 3 But he her fears to cease, Sent down the meek-eyd Peace.

1773 H. More Search after Happiness (ed. 2) 40 O Charity, divinely wise, Thou meek-ey'd Daughter of the skies!

1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV cxvi. 61 The meek-eyed genius of the place.

1946 R. Graves Poems 1938–45 37 Breed me gigantic pygmies, meek-eyed Scots.

1996 tr. V. Zhirinovsky in U.S. News & World Rep. (Electronic ed.) 19 Feb. Against the background of general political prostitution, the LDPR is a long-haired, meek-eyed virgin in white.

meek-faced adj.

ΚΠ

1848 G. H. Boker Lessons of Life 112 He scents the meek faced kine, Gazing with their full-orbed eyne On him.

1933 W. de la Mare Fleeting & Other Poems 92 Meek-faced, they snuff the air.

1960 G. Kinnell What Kingdom it Was 77 They had died under the sledgehammer, perches in grass-green armor,..meek-faced and croaking no more.

meek-hearted adj.

ΚΠ

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxlix. 4 The Lorde..helpeth the meke-harted.

1641 G. Wither Halelviah iii. iv. 357 So meek-hearted make thou me, That, when offenders I condemn, My heart may feel how sad they be.

1863 W. Barnes Gram. & Gloss. Dorset Dial. 50 A boy or girl childishly meek-hearted or mother-sick.

1992 Fortune (Electronic ed.) 26 Oct. 111 Financial planners say the more meek-hearted should put 50% to 70% of their money in growth assets..and the rest in fixed-income investments.

meek-mild adj.

ΚΠ

1951 W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 23 Meek-mild as chickweed.

meek-spirited adj.

ΚΠ

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxxvi. 11 The meke spreted shal possesse the earth.

1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. x. 40 A meek-spirited jade of a broken-winded horse.

1836 E. Howard Rattlin, the Reefer I. xiii. 63 The meekest spirited boys.

1876 J. A. D. D. Bittinger Formation of Standards 403 This meek-spirited man..moved that the Assembly would consider what is fit to be done.

meek-swarded adj.

ΚΠ

1953 C. Day Lewis Ital. Visit i. 24 Immortal landscape of a day..Meek-swarded, comely pastoral.

C2.

† meek mother n. Anatomy Obsolete the pia mater (see mother n.¹ 11).

ΚΠ

1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) v. iii. 106 The seconde webbe and skynne of the brayne hyghte pia mater the meke moder [a1398 BL Add. mylde modir].

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

meekv.

Brit.

/miːk/, U.S.

/mik/

Forms: Middle English mece, Middle English mege (perhaps transmission error), Middle English meke, Middle English meok, Middle English meoke, Middle English mike, Middle English moek, Middle English muke, Middle English myke, Middle English–1500s meeke, Middle English–1500s meke, Middle English–1600s (1900s– poetic) meek; also Scottish pre-1700 meik, pre-1700 meke.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: meek adj.

Etymology: < meek adj. Compare Old Swedish miuka (Swedish mjuka to make soft, soften, (now poetic) to humble, make tractable).

Now rare (poetic).

†a. transitive. To make meek in spirit, to humble; (occasionally) to appease, mollify. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > make humble [verb (transitive)]

edmodienc1175

lowc1175

meekc1175

lessa1382

abatec1390

abasea1393

belowc1400

meekenc1400

disadvance?c1425

simplec1450

lowlyc1485

humilea1492

chasten1526

to pare the nails ofa1549

lessen1579

vail1582

to take (something) a hole lower1591

destate1615

humblea1616

thorough-humblea1617

humiliate1656

level1712

unnichea1751

to level up, down1791

unpedestal1821

to take the starch out of1830

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9385 Swa to mekenn þeȝȝre lund. & teȝȝre modess wille.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 27 (MED) By þat word he meked..þe kynges herte þat was to swolle for wrethe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4299 Strenger þen euer sampson was, Þat luue ne mai him mike wit might.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 3394 To preve if I myght meke hym soo.

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 14 (MED) Temptacions are ofte tymes riȝt profitable to man..for in hem a man is mekid, purged, & sharply tauȝt.

a1500 Roberd of Cisyle (Cambr. Ff.2.38) (1879) 476 He ete & laye wyth howndys eke; Thogh he were prowde, hyt wolde hym meke.

1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man Pref. f. v^v To humble, to meke and to teach him Gods wayes.

1680 E. Nimmo Diary in W. G. Scott-Moncrieff Narr. J. Nimmo (1889) Introd. 16 There was much of the Lord's goodness to be seen in supporting her, and in meeking her spirit.

†b. transitive (reflexive). To humble, abase oneself. Also to meek one's heart, soul, mind, etc. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > self-abasement > humble oneself [verb (reflexive)]

meekc1175

humblec1380

meekenc1450

lowlyc1485

humiliate1533

abase1539

demean1659

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13950 All forr nohht uss haffde crist Vt lesedd fra þe defell Ȝiff þatt we nolldenn mekenn uss. To follȝhenn cristess lare.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 204 On þis wise edmodieð & meokeð [c1230 Corpus meokið, a1250 Titus mekeð, a1300 Caius meoked] ow seoluen.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 423 Þe kyng meked hym and ȝeede barfoot.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 17578 For him to find qua will him seke, Þair mode til him þai most meke.

c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iv. 81 (MED) Þanne gan mede to meke [v.rr. mekyn, meoken, megen] hire, & mercy besouȝte.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 2244 He that pride hath hym withynne Ne may his herte in no wise Meken ne souplen to servyse.

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) iii. lii. 124 Þou woldist meke þiself unto þe erþe.

1508 J. Fisher Treat. Penyt. Psalmes sig. bb.iii The lyon..wyll not hurte the beest that falleth downe and meketh hymselfe vnto hym.

1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxxxxvii^v O men meke your myndes.

1533 T. More Apol. xiii, in Wks. 873/1 I wisse tyll you meeke your selfe and amende [your conditions], thys anger of your husband will neuer be well appeased.

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 195/2 But the sayde Constantine meked himself so lowly to the kyng, that [etc.].

c. transitive. To bring low, abase, humiliate. Now rare (poetic).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > humiliation > humiliate [verb (transitive)]

anitherOE

fellOE

lowc1175

to lay lowc1225

to set adownc1275

snuba1340

meekc1350

depose1377

aneantizea1382

to bring lowa1387

declinea1400

meekenc1400

to pull downc1425

avalec1430

to-gradea1440

to put downc1440

humble1484

alow1494

deject?1521

depress1526

plucka1529

to cut (rarely to cast down) the comb of?1533

to bring down1535

to bring basec1540

adbass1548

diminish1560

afflict1561

to take down1562

to throw down1567

debase1569

embase1571

diminute1575

to put (also thrust) a person's nose out of jointc1576

exinanite1577

to take (a person) a peg lower1589

to take (a person) down a peg (or two)1589

disbasea1592

to take (a person) down a buttonhole (or two)1592

comb-cut1593

unpuff1598

atterr1605

dismount1608

annihilate1610

crest-fall1611

demit1611

pulla1616

avilea1617

to put a scorn on, upon1633

mortify1639

dimit1658

to put a person's pipe out1720

to let down1747

to set down1753

humiliate1757

to draw (a person's) eyeteeth1789

start1821

squabash1822

to wipe a person's eye1823

to crop the feathers of1827

embarrass1839

to knock (also take, etc.) (a person) off his or her perch1864

to sit upon ——1864

squelch1864

to cut out of all feather1865

to sit on ——1868

to turn down1870

to score off1882

to do (a person) in the eye1891

puncture1908

to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908

to cut down to size1927

flatten1932

to slap (a person) down1938

punk1963

c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) lxxi. 4 He shal meke þe fals chalangeours.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 38/1 By cause she synned in pryde he meked her seyeng Thou shalt be under the power of man.

a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xvii. 30 All that dyes in thaire pride he [sc. god] mekis thaim in til the lawe pitt of hell.

?a1560 in T. Wright Songs & Ballads Reign Philip & Mary (1860) 12 Withe miche soar hongger our bodis that he meikys.

1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 44 Well, man, he says, for anes we're meked now, An maun beneath our thrawart fortune bow.

1921 W. de la Mare Veil & Other Poems 16 Yet, see him, stooping low to naked weed That meeks its blossom in his anxious eye.

†2. intransitive. To become meek, to be meek. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > be humble [verb (intransitive)] > become humble

to come downa1382

meeka1400

meekena1500

let fall one's crest1531

to come (also get) off one's perch1568

to come down a peg1589

lower1837

to come off the roof1883

to climb down1887

deflate1912

to come, etc., off one's high horse1920

a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xxxiv. 17 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 165 (MED) Als wepand and als dreri, Swa meked I witterli.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 12373 Þe bestes mekand knaus me.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xx. 35 (MED) Anon he meketh, And as low as a lombe for lakkyng of þat hym nedeth.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 3541 His herte is hard that wole not meke, Whanne men of mekenesse hym biseke.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1952 He mekyt to þat mighty and..said His charge full choise.

†3. transitive. To tame (an animal). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > tame or train

temec1000

tamec1315

faite1362

daunt1377

afaitea1393

reclaima1393

chastisec1400

makea1425

meekc1429

break1474

enter1490

train?1532

law1534

dressc1540

meeken1591

correct1594

subjugate1595

cicure1599

unwild1605

cicurate1606

mancipate1623

familiarize1634

domesticate1641

gentle1651

domesticize1656

civilize1721

educate1760

domiciliate1782

c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 5091 (MED) Thow meked [L. mitigasti] the felle pantere.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) James iii. 7 All the natures off beastes and off byrdes and off serpentes and thynges of the see ar meked and tamed off the nature off man.

1653 H. Whistler Aime at Up-shot Infant Baptisme 50 The generation of Vipers and other sort of cruel beasts, meeked with Infants at the Ensign of Christ's Kingdom.

Derivatives

† meeked adj. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective] > made humble

meekeda1382

meekened1539

humbleda1616

abased1658

chasteneda1785

state-fallen1845

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms l. 10 Ful out shul ioȝe bones mekid [a1425 L.V. maad meke; L. humiliata].

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 135 (MED) Þou hast neuere despised þe contrite & þe meked [L. humiliatum] herte.

† meeking n. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > [noun] > making humble

meekinga1333

chastening1526

meekening1537

abasing1548

humbling1549

unperching1586

remissiona1628

a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 16 (MED) Hoere wyl and here moekynge þou nome þo to þonk.

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 42 (MED) To þe meke man he grauntiþ gret grace, and after his meking liftiþ him in glory.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

meekadv.

Brit.

/miːk/, U.S.

/mik/

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: meek adj.

Etymology: < meek adj.

Now rare (poetic).

= meekly adv. Also in meek-dropped adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > humility > [adverb]

edmodlichec1175

meeklyc1175

low1340

lowlyc1350

humblyc1374

humilyc1380

meeka1382

poorlyc1385

benignlyc1386

lowlily1415

sheep-like1582

demissly1598

squire-like1608

demissively1622

forma pauperisa1627

under favour1699

daftly1724

abasedly1830

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith viii. 20 Abide wee meeke þe counfortinge of hym.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 18982 Boþe on mon & wommon eke; Of prophecie shul þei speke meke.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 167 (MED) Ageyn R. he ferd; to fote he felle fulle meke.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. 17 Besides, this Duncane Hath borne his Faculties so meeke .

1828 F. D. Hemans Child's Last Sleep in Records of Woman (ed. 2) 279 Love..hath press'd Thy meek-dropt eyelids and quiet breast.

1876 R. W. Emerson Harp in Sel. Poems 122 It trembles to the cosmic breath..Obeying meek the primal Cause.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

adj.n.c1175

v.c1175

adv.a1382

单词	meek
释义	meekadj.n. Brit. /miːk/, U.S. /mik/ Forms: Middle English make (perhaps transmission error), Middle English mec ( Ormulum), Middle English mekerst (superlative), Middle English mekerste (superlative), Middle English meoc ( Ormulum), Middle English meok, Middle English meoke, Middle English meyk, Middle English mieke, Middle English moeke, Middle English muk, Middle English muke, Middle English myke, Middle English–1500s mek, Middle English–1500s meke, Middle English–1600s meeke, Middle English– meek, 1500s myck; also Scottish pre-1700 meak, pre-1700 meik, pre-1700 meike, pre-1700 mek, pre-1700 meke, pre-1700 meyk, pre-1700 meyke. Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic mjúkr soft, pliant, gentle, Old Swedish miuker soft, pliant, gentle (Swedish mjuk supple, lithe), Danish myg supple, lithe), cognate with (from a different ablaut grade) early modern Dutch muik (Dutch meuk soft), German regional (Low German) muck soft, German regional (Swiss) mauch soft, rotten, and the first element in Gothic muka-modei meekness (and perhaps further cognate with Middle Dutch mūke (Dutch muik ), Middle Low German mūke , Middle High German mūche (German Mauke , German regional (Bavaria) Mauche ) all in sense ‘a disease affecting the hooves of horses’); probably < the same Germanic base as muck n.¹The Middle English forms with eo, oe, u are typical of south-western England and the west midlands; the spellings imply a mid to high front rounded vowel (the normal reflex in this region of the Old English eo diphthong is a mid front rounded vowel usually spelt eo). All the attested forms indicate that the word was borrowed before the characteristic Scandinavian shifting of stress (from falling to rising) in diphthongs. A. adj. †1. Gentle, courteous, kind. Of a social superior: merciful, compassionate, indulgent. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > [adjective] stillc825 tamec888 nesheOE mildeOE softOE lithea1000 daftc1000 methefulOE sefteOE meekc1175 benign1377 pleasablea1382 mytha1400 tendera1400 unfelona1400 mansuetea1425 meeta1425 gentlec1450 moy1487 placablea1522 facile1539 effeminate1594 silver1596 mildya1603 unmalicious1605 uncruel1611 maliceless1614 tender-hefteda1616 unpersecutive1664 baby-milda1845 rose water1855 turtlish1855 unvindictive1857 soft-boiled1859 tenderful1901 soft-lining1967 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2501 Eȝȝþerr [sc. Mary and Joseph] wass wiþþ oþerr mec. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 412 Haue here þis bold barn & be til him meke. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 12254 (MED) Newe þy shryfte euer ylyke, hyt makeþ Iesu cryst to þe meke [v.r. myke]. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. i. 150 Þeiȝ ȝe ben miȝty to mote beþ meke of ȝour werkis. ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 190 Be meke and lowe the pore man to. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 390 Quhen he wes blyth he wes lufly And meyk and sweyt in cumpany. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 318/2 Meke pityfull, clement. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 215 Jason..Þat so mighty & meke & manly art holdyn. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. M.iii^v Then, for our loue, good hope were not to seek: I mought say with myself, she will be meek. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 115 The Lord is meik, and mercyfull is he. 1610 Bible (Douay) II. Psalms lxxxv. Comm. He is meeke to remitte offences. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 258 I am meeke and gentle with these Butchers. View more context for this quotation 2. Humble, submissive; frequently collocated with mild. a. Not proud or self-willed; piously humble; patient and unresentful under injury or reproach; (esp. of a woman) demure, quiet.Frequently connoting the gentleness (esp. towards the weak, the humble, and the poor) consonant with a Christian virtue; cf. post-classical Latin mansuetus (Vulgate), Hellenistic Greek πρᾶος (New Testament). Use of meek as a noun is predominantly in this sense: see branch B.The distinction between this and sense A. 2b is not always clear, since more or less similar qualities of meekness have often been regarded as laudable in certain contexts (as in Christian humility, or, formerly, in women's or servants' characters) but as weak or effeminate in others. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective] > as a Christian virtue meekc1175 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 668 Godess enngell iss full meoc. & milde. & soffte. & bliþe. c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 103 Ðeos milde, meoke meiden. c1300 St. Edward Elder (Laud) 14 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 47 He [sc. Edward the Martyr] was meoke and milde inouȝ. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxi. 5 Loo! thi kyng cometh to thee, homly [glossed] or meke, sittynge on an asse. c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: 2 Tim. (Selwyn) (1904) iii. 4 Incontynent, noȝ[t] muke [L. immites], with-outen benygnyte. 1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) xxii. sig. Eiv^v/2 He that is not meke, is proude. a1500 (c1380) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 460 Crist..was porerste man of lif & mekerste & moost vertuous. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Dii With a clene herte & meke spirit. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Pet. iii. 4 A meke & a quyete sprete. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 33 Patience vnmou'd, no maruel though she pause, They can be meeke, that haue no other cause. View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton Lycidas (rev. ed.) in Poems 82 In the blest Kingdoms meek of joy and love. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 266 His words here ended, but his meek aspect Silent yet spake. View more context for this quotation 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 267 A proud character was never a meek one. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. viii. 64 ‘God is good to me,’ said the lady, raising her meek eyes. 1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board & Down II. 158 Bold bad men far outnumber the meek ones of the earth. 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist iii. 129 No longer the meek Jesus of Nazareth,..He is seen now coming upon the clouds, in great power and majesty. 1935 ‘R. West’ Celebration ii. ii. 172 The gospel story and the blood of the martyrs had fixed the character of the Christian Church as meek. 1980 W. M. Spackman Presence with Secrets iii. iii. 105 A couple of stanzas of what I took to be, from their tone of meek piety and general theological smarm, some Quaker poet or another. b. Humble, submissive (occasionally with †to). Esp. (depreciative): inclined to submit tamely to oppression or injury, easily imposed upon or cowed, timid, biddable. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective] heanc825 daftc1000 edmedec1000 edmodc1000 edmodeda1175 sheepishc1175 deftc1220 edmodi?c1225 lowc1225 humblec1250 beienlichc1275 buxoma1300 meekc1325 benign1377 lowlya1382 contemptiblec1384 pridelessc1395 humil1488 low-down1548 unproud1570 demiss1572 unpuffed1577 afflicted1590 unselfdelicious1605 cottagely1653 unselfvaluing1668 simplified1721 demissivea1763 stateless1844 maiden-meek1847 vanityless1854 patronizable1884 the mind > emotion > calmness > meekness or mildness > [adjective] stillc825 tamec888 mildeOE lithea1000 daftc1000 meekc1325 lambishc1374 meeklyc1375 benign1377 temperatec1380 quieta1382 gall-lessa1398 mansuetea1425 meeta1425 unwrathful1542 rageless1578 lamb-like?1592 mildya1603 milky1602 pigeon-livered1604 placid1614 spleenless?1615 passive1616 unprovokable1646 milken1648 uncaptious1661 stomachless1727 unindignant1789 pianoa1817 ireless1829 unquarrelsome1830 quiet-goinga1835 uncholeric1834 unoffendable1839 baby-milda1845 quiet-tempered1846 turtlish1855 pathic1857 society > authority > subjection > obedience > submissiveness > [adjective] > in unfavourable sense meekc1325 tame1563 slavish1565 slink1792 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6868 Þe king was mek & milde ynou, & as þe bissopes him bade Wolde is moder do al out. c1395 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 141 Hir meke prayere and hir pitous cheere. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. x. 83 (MED) Dred is such a maister Þat he makiþ men meke & mylde of here speche. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 1747 Made to be meke malegreue his chekis. a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 179 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 304 Be not to meke, but in mene þe holde, For ellis a fole þou wylle be tolde. 1536 R. Beerley Let. in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1880) 34 My lowly and myck scrybulling. 1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) ii. 142 Than every man gaif Will a mok, And said he wes our meik. c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) 953 Hee had..imade all þe menne meeke too his wyll. 1677 J. Crowne Destr. Jerusalem i. iv. i. 41 To my own goodness I am made a Prey; I am too meek, too ready to obey! 1686 Love's Posie xxvii. 151 Instead of taming and rendring me meek and tractable with it, you put me into Arms and Battel-array against it. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 236 When I have ask'd thee, Meek-ones, half a dozen Questions together, I suppose thou wilt answer them all at once! 1778 Tailors ii. iv. 30 What, I suppose you'd have Some meek insipid thing, with folded arms, Would stand or curt'sy, and say yes, or no, As you would have her. 1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. i. 11 The boy..was of a meek and yielding temper. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 92 I hate Your meek and milky girls that dare not kiss A burning passion, clinging to your lips. 1933 S. Lewis Ann Vickers xxxviii. 454 They want to boss a gang of meek yes-women. 1987 P. Lomas Limits of Interpretation xii. 138 It is not his business to coerce his patient into meek conformity; but neither is he justified in preaching revolution. c. In extended use, esp. of flowers: not obtrusively conspicuous, unassuming, modest.Some examples at sense A. 2a may arguably belong here, and vice versa. ΚΠ 1744 J. Warton Enthusiast 7 The thousand-colour'd Tulip, Violet's Bell Snow-clad and meek, the Vermil-tinctur'd Rose. 1751 M. Mendez Seasons 6 The meek Violet, in amis Blue, Creeps low to Earth, and hides from public View. 1800 S. T. Coleridge Poems 356 Since Laura murmur'd o'er thy leaves..To thee, meek Flowret! gentler gales and cloudless skies belong. 1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xlii. 487 Some little children..were climbing a meek and lowly manure-pile. 1933 W. de la Mare Fleeting & Other Poems 101 Meek harebell hung her head Over the green-turfed chalk. 1988 B. Sterling Islands in Net (1989) ii. 35 She favored gray corduroy skirts and longsleeve blouses in meek beiges and duns. 3. Of an animal: tame, domesticated, docile; not fierce. (In early use esp. common in Scottish) ΘΚΠ the world > animals > domestic animal > [adjective] tamec888 mildOE meekc1175 privy1340 unwilda1400 familiar1483 gentle?1531 domestical1562 inward1575 inwards1575 housal1611 domestic1620 cicurated1646 domesticated1802 the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [adjective] > tamed or trained tamec888 mildOE meekc1175 unwilda1400 chastisedc1440 reclaimed1440 made1474 familiar1483 gentle?1531 domestical1562 inward1575 inwards1575 housal1611 domestic1620 cicurated1646 domiciliated1782 domesticated1802 broken1805 hand-tamed1932 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1313 Lamb iss soffte. & stille deor. & meoc. & milde & liþe. a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Mek Douf a ful mec fuel es. c1480 (a1400) St. George 278 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 184 He folouyt hyre as it had bene þe mekeste quhelpe wes euir sene. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 166 The meik pluch ox. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 240 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 102 Thir ar na fowlis of reif..Bot mansweit..manerit & meike. 1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades iv. 63 Then Troians in their wals Had bene infolded like meeke Lambs, had Ioue winckt at their fals. 1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xvii. §19. 382 A Dove, a meek and gall-lesse creature. 1767 F. Fawkes tr. Theocritus Idylliums i. 12 Meek heifers, patient cows, and gentle steers, Moan'd at his feet, and melted into tears. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles & St. James (new ed.) xx, in Writings I. 210 The drudged horse stood meek and passive in the field. 1872 C. D. Warner Saunterings 202 I like to select the meek, patient, diminutive little donkeys, with enormous panniers that almost hide them. 1994 Nature 24 Feb. 684/2 The puzzling mammalian example of the similar appearances of meek little insect-eating aardwolves and ferocious big lion-killing hyenas also comes to mind. 4. Of an object, substance, the weather, etc.: weak, lacking strength or violence; mild, gentle, soft, light; †supple, pliant (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > not harsh or gentle meekc1230 nesha1250 tender1340 softa1398 sober1455 gentle1508 silken1601 milken1648 rose water1837 paddy1962 c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 214 Ower schon i winter beon meoke. greate & warme. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 215 A meoke surpliz ȝe mahen in hat sumer werien. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 383 Amonge alle þe spices..of þe lepra, þe spices leonina and elephancia ben werste..; The oþer forsoþe ben softer and meker maters. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ii. 6 It was in the monethe of Maye, whan the waters be peaseable and meke. 1564 P. Moore Hope of Health ii. xii. 49 Then must that superfluous humour be pourged out..with a meke medicine. 1683 J. Mason Spiritual Songs xxiii. 51 The Three, when Christ did make the Fourth, Found Fire as meek as Air. 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 225 Venus..with a quiet which no fumes disturb, Sips meek infusions of a milder herb. 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance xlv A meek, gray, autumnal day. 1832 W. C. Bryant Poems (new ed.) 172 When woods begin to wear the crimson leaf, And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief. 1992 New Yorker 20 July 1 (advt.) Certainly not the sort of guy too likely to settle for some meek car with an anemic little powerplant. 1993 Toronto Life July 81/2 This dish meek, that one scorching. 5. Proverbial phrases (chiefly in senses A. 1 and A. 2), as as meek as a lamb (also a maid, etc.), as meek as Moses, etc. ΚΠ c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 260 He þat was woned to be Meke as a lomb, ful of pite. c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3202 He was..lyk a mayden meke for to see. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 1243 In tym off pes mek as a maid was he. a1617 J. Melville Mem. Own Life (1827) 25 He was humble, gentill and meak lyk a lamb in the house. 1743 R. Blair Grave 28 The shrill-tongu'd Shrew, Meek as the Turtle-Dove, forgets her Chiding. 1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss I. i. xii. 232 Mr Glegg,..though a kind man..was not as meek as Moses. 1906 W. Woods Billy the Kid in America's Lost Plays (1940) VIII. 217 I went into Pete's place as meek as a kitten. 1933 E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! iv. iii. 151 I ran into him upstreet this afternoon and he was meek as pie. 1985 W. Horwood Callanish 71 He made himself as meek as a lamb, hoping perhaps that they would give him an extra morsel of food. B. n. With plural agreement. Now usually with the: meek people as a class. Frequently with allusion (sometimes ironic) to Matthew 5:5 (see quot. 1535). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > [noun] > humble people meekc1175 submiss1737 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9613 Drihhtin hateþþ modiȝ mann & lufeþþ alle meke. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke i. 52 He puttide doun myȝty men fro seete, and enhaunside meke. ?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 28 Liȝt..is vp spronngen, & meke loweli ben vphaunsid. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Matt. v. 5 Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 96 Till slay the meik and Innocent. c1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xxv. vi The meeke he doth in judgment leade. 1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 70 Feroce and belluine men [shal cohabit] with the meek and placable. 1802 B. Porteus Lect. Gospel St. Matt. I. vi. 138 These [blessings], I apprehend, are the peculiar portion and recompence of the meek. 1876 J. Ellis Caesar in Egypt 158 Thou that dost..Subdue the stern, and suscitate the meek. 1939 L. MacNeice Autumn Jrnl. iii. 18 I shall..make the world my sofa, Unzip the women and insult the meek. 1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 15 Feb. 365/1 ‘I came, I saw and I concurred’ may be a handy rule to get ahead in the committee hierarchy, but it is compromise without spine. The meek shall inherit mediocrity. Compounds C1. Chiefly parasynthetic adjectives. a. meek-heartedness n. ΚΠ 1849 D. Rock Church our Fathers II. 309 In her meek-heartedness, the royal Ædilthryda desired, and was buried in a wooden coffin. b. meek-browed adj. ΚΠ 1859 Bentley's Misc. 46 359 Overladen cattle and meek-browed beasts of burden. 1914 E. W. Wilcox Poems of Hope 97 So let who will erect an altar shrine To meek-browed Constancy, and sing her praise. meek-eyed adj. ΚΠ 1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn iii, in Poems 3 But he her fears to cease, Sent down the meek-eyd Peace. 1773 H. More Search after Happiness (ed. 2) 40 O Charity, divinely wise, Thou meek-ey'd Daughter of the skies! 1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV cxvi. 61 The meek-eyed genius of the place. 1946 R. Graves Poems 1938–45 37 Breed me gigantic pygmies, meek-eyed Scots. 1996 tr. V. Zhirinovsky in U.S. News & World Rep. (Electronic ed.) 19 Feb. Against the background of general political prostitution, the LDPR is a long-haired, meek-eyed virgin in white. meek-faced adj. ΚΠ 1848 G. H. Boker Lessons of Life 112 He scents the meek faced kine, Gazing with their full-orbed eyne On him. 1933 W. de la Mare Fleeting & Other Poems 92 Meek-faced, they snuff the air. 1960 G. Kinnell What Kingdom it Was 77 They had died under the sledgehammer, perches in grass-green armor,..meek-faced and croaking no more. meek-hearted adj. ΚΠ 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxlix. 4 The Lorde..helpeth the meke-harted. 1641 G. Wither Halelviah iii. iv. 357 So meek-hearted make thou me, That, when offenders I condemn, My heart may feel how sad they be. 1863 W. Barnes Gram. & Gloss. Dorset Dial. 50 A boy or girl childishly meek-hearted or mother-sick. 1992 Fortune (Electronic ed.) 26 Oct. 111 Financial planners say the more meek-hearted should put 50% to 70% of their money in growth assets..and the rest in fixed-income investments. meek-mild adj. ΚΠ 1951 W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 23 Meek-mild as chickweed. meek-spirited adj. ΚΠ 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxxvi. 11 The meke spreted shal possesse the earth. 1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. x. 40 A meek-spirited jade of a broken-winded horse. 1836 E. Howard Rattlin, the Reefer I. xiii. 63 The meekest spirited boys. 1876 J. A. D. D. Bittinger Formation of Standards 403 This meek-spirited man..moved that the Assembly would consider what is fit to be done. meek-swarded adj. ΚΠ 1953 C. Day Lewis Ital. Visit i. 24 Immortal landscape of a day..Meek-swarded, comely pastoral. C2. † meek mother n. Anatomy Obsolete the pia mater (see mother n.¹ 11). ΚΠ 1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) v. iii. 106 The seconde webbe and skynne of the brayne hyghte pia mater the meke moder [a1398 BL Add. mylde modir]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022). meekv. Brit. /miːk/, U.S. /mik/ Forms: Middle English mece, Middle English mege (perhaps transmission error), Middle English meke, Middle English meok, Middle English meoke, Middle English mike, Middle English moek, Middle English muke, Middle English myke, Middle English–1500s meeke, Middle English–1500s meke, Middle English–1600s (1900s– poetic) meek; also Scottish pre-1700 meik, pre-1700 meke. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: meek adj. Etymology: < meek adj. Compare Old Swedish miuka (Swedish mjuka to make soft, soften, (now poetic) to humble, make tractable). Now rare (poetic). 1. †a. transitive. To make meek in spirit, to humble; (occasionally) to appease, mollify. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > make humble [verb (transitive)] edmodienc1175 lowc1175 meekc1175 lessa1382 abatec1390 abasea1393 belowc1400 meekenc1400 disadvance?c1425 simplec1450 lowlyc1485 humilea1492 chasten1526 to pare the nails ofa1549 lessen1579 vail1582 to take (something) a hole lower1591 destate1615 humblea1616 thorough-humblea1617 humiliate1656 level1712 unnichea1751 to level up, down1791 unpedestal1821 to take the starch out of1830 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9385 Swa to mekenn þeȝȝre lund. & teȝȝre modess wille. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 27 (MED) By þat word he meked..þe kynges herte þat was to swolle for wrethe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4299 Strenger þen euer sampson was, Þat luue ne mai him mike wit might. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 3394 To preve if I myght meke hym soo. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 14 (MED) Temptacions are ofte tymes riȝt profitable to man..for in hem a man is mekid, purged, & sharply tauȝt. a1500 Roberd of Cisyle (Cambr. Ff.2.38) (1879) 476 He ete & laye wyth howndys eke; Thogh he were prowde, hyt wolde hym meke. 1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man Pref. f. v^v To humble, to meke and to teach him Gods wayes. 1680 E. Nimmo Diary in W. G. Scott-Moncrieff Narr. J. Nimmo (1889) Introd. 16 There was much of the Lord's goodness to be seen in supporting her, and in meeking her spirit. †b. transitive (reflexive). To humble, abase oneself. Also to meek one's heart, soul, mind, etc. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > self-abasement > humble oneself [verb (reflexive)] meekc1175 humblec1380 meekenc1450 lowlyc1485 humiliate1533 abase1539 demean1659 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13950 All forr nohht uss haffde crist Vt lesedd fra þe defell Ȝiff þatt we nolldenn mekenn uss. To follȝhenn cristess lare. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 204 On þis wise edmodieð & meokeð [c1230 Corpus meokið, a1250 Titus mekeð, a1300 Caius meoked] ow seoluen. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 423 Þe kyng meked hym and ȝeede barfoot. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 17578 For him to find qua will him seke, Þair mode til him þai most meke. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iv. 81 (MED) Þanne gan mede to meke [v.rr. mekyn, meoken, megen] hire, & mercy besouȝte. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 2244 He that pride hath hym withynne Ne may his herte in no wise Meken ne souplen to servyse. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) iii. lii. 124 Þou woldist meke þiself unto þe erþe. 1508 J. Fisher Treat. Penyt. Psalmes sig. bb.iii The lyon..wyll not hurte the beest that falleth downe and meketh hymselfe vnto hym. 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxxxxvii^v O men meke your myndes. 1533 T. More Apol. xiii, in Wks. 873/1 I wisse tyll you meeke your selfe and amende [your conditions], thys anger of your husband will neuer be well appeased. 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 195/2 But the sayde Constantine meked himself so lowly to the kyng, that [etc.]. c. transitive. To bring low, abase, humiliate. Now rare (poetic). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > humiliation > humiliate [verb (transitive)] anitherOE fellOE lowc1175 to lay lowc1225 to set adownc1275 snuba1340 meekc1350 depose1377 aneantizea1382 to bring lowa1387 declinea1400 meekenc1400 to pull downc1425 avalec1430 to-gradea1440 to put downc1440 humble1484 alow1494 deject?1521 depress1526 plucka1529 to cut (rarely to cast down) the comb of?1533 to bring down1535 to bring basec1540 adbass1548 diminish1560 afflict1561 to take down1562 to throw down1567 debase1569 embase1571 diminute1575 to put (also thrust) a person's nose out of jointc1576 exinanite1577 to take (a person) a peg lower1589 to take (a person) down a peg (or two)1589 disbasea1592 to take (a person) down a buttonhole (or two)1592 comb-cut1593 unpuff1598 atterr1605 dismount1608 annihilate1610 crest-fall1611 demit1611 pulla1616 avilea1617 to put a scorn on, upon1633 mortify1639 dimit1658 to put a person's pipe out1720 to let down1747 to set down1753 humiliate1757 to draw (a person's) eyeteeth1789 start1821 squabash1822 to wipe a person's eye1823 to crop the feathers of1827 embarrass1839 to knock (also take, etc.) (a person) off his or her perch1864 to sit upon ——1864 squelch1864 to cut out of all feather1865 to sit on ——1868 to turn down1870 to score off1882 to do (a person) in the eye1891 puncture1908 to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908 to cut down to size1927 flatten1932 to slap (a person) down1938 punk1963 c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) lxxi. 4 He shal meke þe fals chalangeours. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 38/1 By cause she synned in pryde he meked her seyeng Thou shalt be under the power of man. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xvii. 30 All that dyes in thaire pride he [sc. god] mekis thaim in til the lawe pitt of hell. ?a1560 in T. Wright Songs & Ballads Reign Philip & Mary (1860) 12 Withe miche soar hongger our bodis that he meikys. 1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 44 Well, man, he says, for anes we're meked now, An maun beneath our thrawart fortune bow. 1921 W. de la Mare Veil & Other Poems 16 Yet, see him, stooping low to naked weed That meeks its blossom in his anxious eye. †2. intransitive. To become meek, to be meek. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > be humble [verb (intransitive)] > become humble to come downa1382 meeka1400 meekena1500 let fall one's crest1531 to come (also get) off one's perch1568 to come down a peg1589 lower1837 to come off the roof1883 to climb down1887 deflate1912 to come, etc., off one's high horse1920 a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xxxiv. 17 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 165 (MED) Als wepand and als dreri, Swa meked I witterli. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 12373 Þe bestes mekand knaus me. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xx. 35 (MED) Anon he meketh, And as low as a lombe for lakkyng of þat hym nedeth. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 3541 His herte is hard that wole not meke, Whanne men of mekenesse hym biseke. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1952 He mekyt to þat mighty and..said His charge full choise. †3. transitive. To tame (an animal). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > tame or train temec1000 tamec1315 faite1362 daunt1377 afaitea1393 reclaima1393 chastisec1400 makea1425 meekc1429 break1474 enter1490 train?1532 law1534 dressc1540 meeken1591 correct1594 subjugate1595 cicure1599 unwild1605 cicurate1606 mancipate1623 familiarize1634 domesticate1641 gentle1651 domesticize1656 civilize1721 educate1760 domiciliate1782 c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 5091 (MED) Thow meked [L. mitigasti] the felle pantere. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) James iii. 7 All the natures off beastes and off byrdes and off serpentes and thynges of the see ar meked and tamed off the nature off man. 1653 H. Whistler Aime at Up-shot Infant Baptisme 50 The generation of Vipers and other sort of cruel beasts, meeked with Infants at the Ensign of Christ's Kingdom. Derivatives † meeked adj. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > [adjective] > made humble meekeda1382 meekened1539 humbleda1616 abased1658 chasteneda1785 state-fallen1845 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms l. 10 Ful out shul ioȝe bones mekid [a1425 L.V. maad meke; L. humiliata]. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 135 (MED) Þou hast neuere despised þe contrite & þe meked [L. humiliatum] herte. † meeking n. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > [noun] > making humble meekinga1333 chastening1526 meekening1537 abasing1548 humbling1549 unperching1586 remissiona1628 a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 16 (MED) Hoere wyl and here moekynge þou nome þo to þonk. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 42 (MED) To þe meke man he grauntiþ gret grace, and after his meking liftiþ him in glory. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). meekadv. Brit. /miːk/, U.S. /mik/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: meek adj. Etymology: < meek adj. Now rare (poetic). = meekly adv. Also in meek-dropped adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > humility > [adverb] edmodlichec1175 meeklyc1175 low1340 lowlyc1350 humblyc1374 humilyc1380 meeka1382 poorlyc1385 benignlyc1386 lowlily1415 sheep-like1582 demissly1598 squire-like1608 demissively1622 forma pauperisa1627 under favour1699 daftly1724 abasedly1830 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith viii. 20 Abide wee meeke þe counfortinge of hym. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 18982 Boþe on mon & wommon eke; Of prophecie shul þei speke meke. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 167 (MED) Ageyn R. he ferd; to fote he felle fulle meke. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. 17 Besides, this Duncane Hath borne his Faculties so meeke . View more context for this quotation 1828 F. D. Hemans Child's Last Sleep in Records of Woman (ed. 2) 279 Love..hath press'd Thy meek-dropt eyelids and quiet breast. 1876 R. W. Emerson Harp in Sel. Poems 122 It trembles to the cosmic breath..Obeying meek the primal Cause. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.n.c1175v.c1175adv.a1382
随便看	overedit overedited overediting overedits overeducate overeducated overeducatedness overeducates overeducating overeducation overeducations overeffort overegg overegg the pudding overelaborate overelaborated overelaborates overelaborating overelaboration overelaborations overelegancy overelegant overemote overemoted overemotes