supple

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Able to bend and move easily; flexible.

   Years of yoga had kept her body remarkably supple.

2. 2
   adj

   Soft and easy to bend, used of materials like leather.

   The new gloves were made of soft, supple leather.

3. 3
   adj

   Quick to adapt or change; flexible in thinking.

   The job demands a supple mind that can handle sudden changes.

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.

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