- imbecility
- 1530s, "weakness, feebleness, impotence," from L. imbecillitatem (nom. imbecillitas) "weakness, feebleness," from imbecillus "weak, feeble," traditionally said to mean "unsupported" (quasi sine baculo), from in- "not" + baculum "a stick." "Weakness in mind" (as opposed to body) was a secondary sense in Latin but was not attested in English until 1620s.