meek
pronunciation
How to pronounce meek in British English:
UK [miːk]
How to pronounce meek in American English:
US [miːk]
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- Adjective:
- humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
- very docile
- evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant
Word Origin
- meek
- meek: see muck
- meek (adj.)
- c. 1200, "gentle, quiet, unaggressive; benevolent, kind; courteous, humble, unassuming;" of a woman, "modest," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse mjukr "soft, pliant, gentle," from Proto-Germanic *meukaz (cognates: 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 (n.)
- "those who are meek," c. 1200, from meek (adj.).
Synonym
Example
- 1. Donny is their meek sidekick always a step behind the big guys .
- 2. Oilman john paul getty 's quip that " the meek shall inherit the earth , but not its mineral rights " clearly translates well into mandarin .
- 3. And reverence for the ideal of poverty , in which the meek and humble are considered pure , and so blessed by god , was still strong in much of europe .
- 4. John paul getty , one of the world 's first billionaires , once said : " the meek shall inherit the earth , but not its mineral rights . "
- 5. In speeches by us cabinet members over the past week , the obama administration conscious of how it appeared meek on the president 's 2009 trip to beijing has set down markers on defence , national security , economic policy and trade .