I. ˈfrāl, esp before pause or consonant -āəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English frayel, freyel, from Middle French fraiel, freel, frael, perhaps from fraiel, freel, frael piece of a vine with grapes attached, alteration of flaiel, flael flail, whip, piece of a vine with grapes attached — more at flail
1. : a basket typically made of rushes and used for shipping (as of figs or raisins)
2. : the quantity (as 32, 56, or 75 pounds) of raisins contained in a frail
II. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English frele, freel, frail, from Middle French fraile, frele, from Latin fragilis, from frag- (stem of frangere to break) + -ilis -ile — more at break
1.
a. : easily led into evil : morally weak
a fiery sermon delivered to all of frail humanity
b. : easily led from one's chosen course : lacking in general strength of character or purpose
frail enough to give in if subjected to any pressure
2.
a. : easily broken : not firm or durable
a bridge with frail construction
a small and frail ship
b. : easily destroyed : likely to fail or die quickly
a frail flower
a frail and very old woman
c. : unusually susceptible to disease or other infirmity
a man of frail constitution
3.
a.
(1) : lacking even normal strength or force
their voices were weak and frail — Humayun Kabir
(2) : weak and small
his steady, workman's hands looking enormous arond the frail tube of tobacco — Irwin Shaw
b.
(1) : lacking significant substance
a charming, frail , breathless book — New Yorker
smiled a minute frail smile — Raymond Chandler
his lyrics are frail and derivative — F.B.Millett
(2) : tenuous and thin
only frail hope of finding more survivors existed — New York Times
how frail the barrier between civilization and the primal jungle — Oscar Handlin
the love of truth is pitifully frail — M.R.Cohen
Synonyms: see weak
III.
dialect
variant of flail