Anemic means suffering from anemia, a medical condition which consists of a lack of red blood cells, resulting in pallor and weakness. Anemic and anemia may also be used in a figurative sense, referring to something weak. Anemic and anemia are North American spellings, the British spellings are anaemic and anaemia. Anemia comes from the Greek word anaimia, which means lack of blood. The æ in anaemic and anaemia is a Latin-derived letter that represents different sounds in different languages (and it still appears in some modern alphabets). The letter was preserved in numerous Latin words brought to English between the 16th and 19th centuries, though later in this period æ was usually rendered ae, as it usually is today. Many of these words were simplified in North America by dropping the a over the last century or so.
Examples
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Shrink, Hinting at More Anemic Growth (The New York Times)
To date the FDA has approved only one drug for treatment of sickle cell anemia, an old drug called hydroxyurea. (Forbes)
The president’s anemic policy regarding ISIS was clearly illustrated by his decision last week to finally authorize air strikes against fuel trucks in ISIS-controlled areas. (The Detroit News)
NEW DELHI: One out of two adolescent girls suffers from anaemia in India, which has the world’s largest adolescent population. (The Times of India)
The Fed and the ECB are moving in opposite policy directions as the US economy is strengthening while Europe is struggling with tepid growth, high unemployment and anaemic inflation which is far below the ECB’s target of two per cent. (The Times of Malta)
Instead an anaemic display saw Van Gaal’s physical side bully the Reds into submission – something we’ve seen too often these last 12 months – with Fellaini the destroyer and Mata the executioner. (The Liverpool Echo)