meek

[meek]

adjective, meek·er, meek·est.

humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.

overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.

Obsolete. gentle; kind.

Origin of meek

1150–1200; Middle English meke, meoc < Old Norse mjūkr soft, mild, meek

Related formsmeek·ly, adverbmeek·ness, nouno·ver·meek, adjectiveo·ver·meek·ly, adverbo·ver·meek·ness, noun

Synonyms for meek

1. forbearing; yielding; unassuming; pacific, calm, soft. See gentle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for meekest

submissive, subdued, deferential, serene, passive, gentle, docile, timid, unassuming, forbearing, humble, lenient, long-suffering, lowly, manageable, mild, modest, nothing, orderly, pabulum

Examples from the Web for meekest

Historical Examples of meekest

She followed me to the door in the meekest manner, but declined the arm I offered.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
You're just the meekest little mouse that ever came under the paw of a cat.
Jack O' Judgment
Edgar Wallace
As I explained to him afterwards, a woman is most dangerous when at her meekest.
They and I
Jerome K. Jerome
Olga married Count Taroc, and settled down into the meekest of wives.
A Coin of Edward VII
Fergus Hume
Their founder and preachers were among the boldest and yet the meekest of the non-conformists.
The Witch of Salem
John R. Musick

British Dictionary definitions for meekest

meek

adjective

patient, long-suffering, or submissive in disposition or nature; humble

spineless or spiritless; compliant

an obsolete word for gentle

Derived Formsmeekly, adverbmeekness, noun

Word Origin for meek

C12: related to Old Norse mjūkr amenable; compare Welsh mwytho to soften

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for meekest

meek

adj.

c.1200, "gentle, quiet, unaggressive; benevolent, kind; courteous, humble, unassuming;" of a woman, "modest," from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse mjukr "soft, pliant, gentle"), from Proto-Germanic *meukaz (cf. Gothic muka-modei "humility," Dutch muik "soft"), of uncertain origin, perhaps from PIE *meug- "slippery, slimy." In the Bible, it translates Latin mansuetus from Vulgate (see mansuetude). Sense of "submissive" is from mid-14c.

meek

"those who are meek," c.1200, from meek (adj.).