Meaning

verb make pliant and flexible

adjective moving and bending with ease

adjective (used of e.g. personality traits) readily adaptable

originFrom Middle English souple, from Old French souple, soupple (“soft, lithe, yielding”), from Latin supplic-, supplex (“suppliant, submissive, kneeling”), of uncertain formation. Either from sub + plicō (“bend”) (compare complex), or from sub + plācō (“placate”). More at sub-, placate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0