People or animals that are physically weak, frail, or lacking in strength or determination.
From 'weak' (Old English 'wæc') plus the suffix '-ling' (meaning 'one who is' or 'small thing'), creating a somewhat derogatory term for those lacking strength.
The suffix '-ling' in English often carries an insulting tone—think 'underling' or 'hireling'—so calling someone a 'weakling' is automatically disrespectful in a way that just saying 'weak person' isn't, which shows how suffixes carry attitude.
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