Etymology
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flexible (adj.)

early 15c., "capable of being bent; mentally or spiritually pliant," from Old French flexible or directly from Latin flexibilis "that may be bent, pliant, flexible, yielding;" figuratively "tractable, inconstant," from flex-, past participle stem of flectere "to bend," which is of uncertain origin. Flexile (1630s) and flexive (1620s) have become rare. Related: Flexibly. Coles' dictionary (1717) has flexiloquent "speaking words of doubtful or double meaning."

Entries linking to flexible

circumflex (n.)

"sign or mark placed over certain vowels to indicate accent or tone," 1570s, from Latin (accentus) circumflexus, "bent around," past participle of circumflectere "to bend around," of a charioteer, "turn around," from circum "around" (see circum-), + flectere "to bend" (see flexible).

Used as a loan-translation of Greek (prosodia) perispomenos (Dionysius of Halicarnassus), literally "drawn-around," with reference to the shape. The tone is recognized in Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit; in the first two it is limited to "long" vowels. "In modern English use the mark has no definite value, but is variously used by orthoepists or phonetists to mark long quantity, 'broad' quality, or the like" [OED].

flex (v.)

1520s, "to bend," usually of muscles, probably a back-formation from flexible. Related: Flexed; flexing.

updated on December 08, 2020

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Dictionary entries near flexible

fleuret

fleuron

flew

flex

flexibility

flexible

flexion

flexography

flexor

flextime

flexuous

© 2001-2023 Douglas Harper