What is "weak declension"

Weak \Weak\ (w[=e]k), a. [Compar. Weaker (w[=e]k"[~e]r); superl. Weakest.] [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. w[=a]c weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. v[=i]kja to turn, veer, recede, AS. w[=i]can to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. w[=i]hhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. e'i`kein to yield, give way. [root]132. Cf. Week, Wink, v. i. Vicissitude.]

1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically:

   1. Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.

      A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man.
      --Shak.

      Weak with hunger, mad with love.
      --Dryden.

   2. Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.

   3. Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.

   4. Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of a plant.

   5. Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak fortress.

   6. Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.

      A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish.
      --Ascham.

   7. Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; of less than the usual strength; as, weak tea, broth, or liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of medicine.

   8. Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.

2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically:

   1. Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.

      To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak mind and captious temper.
      --Beattie.

      Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods.
      --Waterland.

   2. Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.

      If evil thence ensue, She first his weak indulgence will accuse.
      --Milton.

   3. Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.

      Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
      --Rom. xiv. 1.

   4. Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue.

      Guard thy heart On this weak side, where most our nature fails.
      --Addison.

   5. Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty.

   6. Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or case. ``Convinced of his weak arguing.''
      --Milton.

      A case so weak . . . hath much persisted in.
      --Hooker.

   7. Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak sentence; a weak style.

   8. Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble. ``Weak prayers.''
      --Shak.

   9. Lacking in elements of political strength; not wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are essential to a ruler or nation; as, a weak monarch; a weak government or state.

      I must make fair weather yet awhile, Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong.
      --Shak. (k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.

3. (Gram.)

   1. Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed; abate, abated; deny, denied; feel, felt. See Strong, 19 (a) .

   2. Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19 (b) .

4. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.

5. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.

6. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.

   Note: Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted, weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like.

   Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation of weak verbs; -- called also new conjugation, or regular conjugation, and distinguished from the old conjugation, or irregular conjugation.

   Weak declension (Anglo-Saxon Gram.), the declension of weak nouns; also, one of the declensions of adjectives.

   Weak side, the side or aspect of a person's character or disposition by which he is most easily affected or influenced; weakness; infirmity.

   weak sore or weak ulcer (Med.), a sore covered with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.

n. (context grammar English) The declension pattern of a weak noun.