fragile

Where it comes from

Fragile came through French from Latin fragilis, easily broken. Fragilis was formed from the stem of Latin frangere, to break or shatter, plus a suffix meaning susceptible to an action.

How the meaning developed

The Latin construction described something liable to be broken. English later extended physical breakability to weak health, unstable agreements, slight hopes, and other things vulnerable to collapse; fragment and fracture preserve the same breaking family.