weakly
adj.adj. physically fragile or not very strong. You use this to describe someone who is often sick or lacks physical power.
adj. physically frail or lacking in strength. Often describes a person's constitution or physical state rather than a temporary illness.
He was a weakly child who stayed indoors most of the time.
The doctor recommended a specific diet to help the weakly patient regain some muscle mass.
Despite his weakly appearance and soft-spoken nature, he possessed a mental fortitude that surprised even his most aggressive business rivals.
From Old English wāclīċe (“weakly”), equivalent to weak + -ly (adjectival suffix); compare Old English wāclīċ (“weak; ignoble; mean”), and Old Norse veikligr (“weakly; sick”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkaz (“weakly; weak”).
From Middle English weykly, equivalent to weak + -ly (adverbial suffix). Compare Old High German weihlīcho (“weakly”), Middle English wocliche, wokli, wacliche (both from Proto-Germanic *waikalīkō).
Typically used attributively before a noun; not to be confused with the adverb form of 'weak'.
He spoke weakly to the crowd.He spoke in a weak voice to the crowd.While 'weakly' is an adjective meaning frail, using it as an adverb for 'in a weak manner' is often considered awkward or non-standard in modern English; 'weakly' as an adverb is usually reserved for logical or structural contexts.