noun
foible
FOY-bul/ˈfɔɪbl/
A minor weakness or flaw in someone's character.
Constantly straightening already-neat pencils is a minor foible that amuses the colleague.
Etymology
The pieces formed Latin flebilis, “to be wept over” or “lamentable,” which became “weak” in French. English transferred the word from a sword blade’s weak point to a weakness of character.
In context
we actually take delight in people getting things wrong, so that we can then moan and groan and bitch at them. And this, I would say, is the biggest human foible that we have.
More examples
- We learn to laugh at our own little foibles.
- A little vanity is a harmless foible, not a serious fault.
- His friends accept his foibles without trying to change him.
Forms
foible · foibles