milksoppery means weak, timid, ineffectual behaviour. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “milksoppery” is a great word
Weak, timid, or ineffectual behavior, especially of a man. From *milksop* (a weak or ineffectual man, from Middle English, literally 'bread soaked in milk') and the noun-forming suffix *-ery* (denoting a characteristic, practice, or condition); first attested in 1873. Unlike *cowardice*, which suggests a failure of nerve before a specific threat, or *effeminacy*, a loaded condemnation of perceived feminine traits, milksoppery describes a pervasive, contemptible softness of spirit. It is the damp handshake that refuses to grip, the dithering refusal to state a clear opinion, the soul that prefers its bread already softened—a quiet surrender not to any foe, but to the effort of being.
Etymology
From milksop + -ery.
noun
- weak, timid, ineffectual behaviour