ˈweak-ˈkneed, a.
Having weak knees; chiefly fig. wanting in resolution or determination.
| 1863 Rio Abajo Press (Albuquerque, N.M.) 24 Feb. 2 But we must forego these comforts and conveniences, because our legislators are too weak-kneed to enact a tax law. 1870 Daily News 16 Nov., The Prefects of the Republic..know how to keep down the malcontents and to enliven the weak-kneed. 1875 N. Amer. Rev. CXX. 208 Kitty Ellison and her weak-kneed lover, we find, are still objects of current allusion. 1891 Kipling Light that Failed xiv. (1900) 235 Suicide..would be..a weak-kneed confession of fear. |
Hence ˈweak-ˈkneedness.
| 1882 Standard 19 Sept. 5/1 The peculiar awkward running gait of women..is due to a weak-kneedness characteristic of the sex. 1887 Sat. Rev. 10 Sept. 340 The weak⁓kneedness of the Irish landlords has had much to do with the triumph of anarchy. |