Asthenic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a physique that is slender and weak in appearance
2. Characterized by a slim and fragile body build suggesting low physical strength
3. Describes a person or form with a narrow, delicate physique lacking robustness

Etymology: Ancient Greek "sthenos" meant "strength" or "force," and it was the root behind a whole family of medical terms. Adding the negating prefix "a-" gave "asthenes," meaning "without strength," and the English adjective "asthenic" keeps that core sense of lacking vigour. In medicine, the word was used for conditions marked by weakness, and it later came to describe a slight, fragile build in a person. The adjective is built from three pieces: the prefix "a-," meaning "not," the Greek root "sthen-," meaning "strength," and the suffix "-ic," which turns the combined stem into an adjective. Put together, the parts mean something like "not strong," and the modern sense of a narrow, delicate physique grows directly out of that original idea of weakness.

Synonyms: weak, feeble

Antonyms: strong, robust