mild

English

Alternative forms

• milde (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English milde, from Old English milde (“mild”), from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz (“mild”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to beat, pound, grind”).

Cognate with Scots mild, myld (“mild”), Saterland Frisian milde (“mild”), West Frisian myld (“mild”), Dutch mild (“mild”), Low German milde (“mild”), German mild (“mild”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål mild (“mild”), Icelandic mildur (“mild”), Latin mollis (“soft, gentle”), Lithuanian malonus (“pleasing, pleasant, kind”), Old Norse mildr.

Pronunciation

• enPR: mīld IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪld/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪld

Adjective

mild (comparative milder, superlative mildest)

1. Gentle and not easily angered.

   a mild man

2. (of a rule or punishment) Of only moderate severity; not strict.

   He received a mild sentence.

3. Not overly felt or seriously intended.
   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.

4. (of an illness or pain) Not serious or dangerous.
   • 2002, Rachel Simon, Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey:

     I learn that mental retardation is classified in four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and profound.

   • 2003, Janice A. Gault, Ophthalmology Pearls:

     NPDR can be further classified as mild, moderate, severe, or very severe, which can help predict how quickly the patient may progress to proliferative (neovascular) diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

5. (of weather) Moderately warm, especially less cold than expected.

   a mild day

   mild weather

6. (of a medicine or cosmetic) Acting gently and without causing harm.

   a mild anaesthetic

7. (of food, drink, or a drug) Not sharp or bitter; not strong in flavor.

   a mild curry

Synonyms

• soft, gentle, bland, calm, tranquil, soothing, pleasant, placid, meek, kind, tender, indulgent, clement, mollifying, lenitive, assuasive
• See also Thesaurus:intermediate

Antonyms

• strong
• harsh, severe, irritating, violent, disagreeable

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

mild (plural milds)

1. (British) A relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale
   • 1998, Robert Rankin, The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag, page 112:

     'Let me get this for the lady,' I said to Fange, who was pulling her a pint of mild.

   • 2011, Pete Brown, Three Sheets to the Wind:

     But Stella shouldn't really be drunk in pints the same way our dads used to drink bitter or mild that was effectively half as strong.

Derived terms

• mild and bitter

Further reading

• chapter MILD, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• chapter MILD, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• chapter MILD, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mil/,

Adjective

mild

1. mild, gentle, soft
2. light, lenient

Inflection

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch milde, from Old Dutch mildi, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪlt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mild
• Rhymes: -ɪlt
• Homophones: milt, Milt

Adjective

mild (comparative milder, superlative mildst)

1. mild

Inflection

German

Alternative forms

• milde (in the sense of merciful, otherwise archaic)

Etymology

From Middle High German milte, from Old High German milti. The modern consonantism is Central and Low German; compare Middle Low German milde.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪlt/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

mild (strong nominative masculine singular milder, comparative milder, superlative am mildesten)

1. mild (in all of its common senses)

Declension

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr.

Adjective

mild (neuter singular mildt, definite singular and plural milde, comparative mildere, indefinite superlative mildest, definite superlative mildeste)

1. mild, gentle, lenient

Derived terms

• formilde
• lattermild
• mildhet

References

• “mild” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz. Akin to English mild.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɪlː/, /mɪld/

Adjective

mild (neuter mildt, definite singular and plural milde, comparative mildare, indefinite superlative mildast, definite superlative mildaste)

1. mild

   I mai er det ofte mildt i veret.

   In May, the weather is often mild

2. gentle
3. lenient

   Dommeren gav han ei mild straff.

   The judge gave him a lenient punishment.

Derived terms

• formilde
• lattermild

References

• “mild” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian milde, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz. More at mild.

Adjective

mild

1. mild; gentle

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish milder, from Old Norse mildr, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *meldʰ-.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

mild (comparative mildare, superlative mildast)

1. mild

   en mild vinter

   a mild winter

   mild citronsmak

   mild lemon flavor

   ett milt straff

   a mild punishment

   Det gick inte helt perfekt, milt uttryckt

   It didn't go perfectly, to put it mildly ("mildly expressed")

   1. gentle

      en mild sommarbris

      a gentle summer breeze

      en vänlig och mild man

      a kind and gentle man

   2. soft

      tapeter med milda färger

      wallpaper with soft colors

Declension

Derived terms

References

• mild in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• mild in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• mild in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• mild in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• milder in Knut Fredrik Söderwall, Ordbok öfver svenska medeltids-språket, del 2:1: M-T