supple en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English souple, from Old French souple, soupple (“soft, lithe, yielding”), from Latin supplic-, supplex (“suppliant, submissive, kneeling”), of uncertain formation. Either from sub + plicō (“bend”) (compare complex), or from sub + plācō (“placate”). More at sub-, placate.
Meanings
-
Pliant, flexible, easy to bend.
Global supply chains, meanwhile, have grown both tighter and more supple since the late 1990s—the result of improving information technology and of freer trade—making routine work easier to relocate.
2011 July 25, Don Peck, “Can the Middle Class Be Saved?”, in The Atlantic:
-
Lithe and agile when moving and bending.
supple fingers
My hands are supple and small. A woman in a bread shop once said to me: “You have the hands for making fine little pastries.”
1918 February (date written), Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Je ne parle pas français”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, pages 82–83:supple joints
-
(figuratively) Compliant; yielding to the will of others.
a supple horse
If punishment […] makes not the will supple, it hardens the offender.
1693, [John Locke], “§78”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:
- Smooth and drinkable.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| suppler | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| supplest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
supply · unsupple · supplely · supplejack · suppleness
Translations (48)
fi taipuisa (compliant) · hu engedelmes (compliant) · fi taipuisa (pliant, easy to bend) · hu szófogadó (compliant) · enm souple (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · mi pīngawingawi (pliant, easy to bend) · hu hajlékony (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · nb smidig (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · oc sople (compliant) · nb bøyelig (compliant) · oc sople (pliant, easy to bend) · sv smidig (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · sk poddajný (pliant, easy to bend) · bg еластичен (pliant, easy to bend) · mi moruki (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · es blando (pliant, easy to bend) · enm souple (pliant, easy to bend) · de geschmeidig (pliant, easy to bend) · fi taipuisa (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · bg гъвкав (pliant, easy to bend) · hu hajlékony (pliant, easy to bend) · ro suplu (pliant, easy to bend) · mi raungawari (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · fi notkea (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · nb bøyelig (pliant, easy to bend) · hu rugalmas (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · es flexible (pliant, easy to bend) · fr souple (pliant, easy to bend) · fr souple (compliant) · bg гъвкав (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · oc domètge (compliant) · it malleabile (compliant) · fi notkea (pliant, easy to bend) · mi kōngehengehe (pliant, easy to bend) · nb føyelig (compliant) · cmn 柔软 (pliant, easy to bend) · oc plegadís (pliant, easy to bend) · es elástico (pliant, easy to bend) · enm souple (compliant) · it duttile (compliant) · fr souple (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · ga scaoilte (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · fi myöntyvä (compliant) · nl soepel (pliant, easy to bend) · oc sople (lithe and agile when moving and bending) · mi tīhohe (pliant, easy to bend) · bg податлив (compliant) · hu ruganyos (lithe and agile when moving and bending)