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leidlich. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
leidlich, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
leidlich in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German līdelich (“patient, enduring”, later also “endurable”). Analysable as leiden (“to suffer”) + -lich (“-ly, -able”); compare similar English sufferable.
There was also another adjective, Middle High German leitlich (“painful, sorrowful”), from Old High German leidlīh, which, at least in spelling, was merged with the above in early modern German and which might have influenced the meaning (though this seems not particularly likely). This latter adjective is cognate with Dutch lelijk (“ugly”), English loathly.
Pronunciation
Adjective
leidlich (strong nominative masculine singular leidlicher, not comparable)
- tolerable; passable; mediocre (only just good enough; not good, but not extremely bad either)
- Synonym: (sometimes more positive) passabel
Er ist ein leidlicher Tennisspieler.- He’s a mediocre tennis player.
Declension
Positive forms of leidlich (uncomparable)
Adverb
leidlich
- tolerably; passably; halfway; more or less
- Synonyms: einigermaßen, halbwegs
Further reading
- “leidlich” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “leidlich” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon