nesh

Soft; tender; sensitive; yielding.

haue ye no merueylle sayd the good man therof / for hit semeth wel god loueth yow / for men maye vnderstande a stone is hard of kynde /[…]/ for thou wylt not leue thy synne for no goodnes that god hath sente the / therfor thou arte more than ony stone / and neuer woldest thow be maade neysshe nor by water nor by fyre

Delicate; weak; poor-spirited; susceptible to cold weather, harsh conditions etc.

And if he keeps the daughter so long at boarding-school, he'll make her as nesh as her mother was.

No, tha'd drop down stiff, as dead as a door-knob, wi' thy nesh sides.

Soft; friable; crumbly.

To make soft, tender, or weak.

To act timidly.