debole

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English

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Diagram of fencing swords, indicating deboles on the right

Etymology

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From Italian debole, meaning "weak", equivalent to the French foible.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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debole (plural deboles)

  1. (fencing) The flexible part of the blade near the tip of light swords such as rapiers.
    • 2021, Guy Windsor, The Complete Rapier:
      There are two parts to the sword: the forte and the debole. The forte begins from the hilt, extending as far as the middle of the blade; and the remainder is called the debole. The forte is for parrying, and the debole for striking. This is really important because: if you always keep your forte in the way of the opponent's debole, you will never be hit.

Italian

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Etymology

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From Latin debilis.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈde.bo.le/
  • Rhymes: -ebole
  • Hyphenation: dé‧bo‧le
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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debole (plural deboli, superlative debolissimo)

  1. weak, dim, faint
    Synonym: (obsolete) debile
    Antonym: forte

Derived terms

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Noun

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debole m or f by sense (plural deboli)

  1. weakling

Noun

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debole m (plural deboli)

  1. weakness
  2. soft spot, weakness (for something)

Further reading

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  • debole in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
  • debole in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
  • debole in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
  • debole in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
  • debole in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
  • debole in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

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