mitis

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmiː.tɪs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmiː.tis]^[1]

Forms

mītis (neuter mīte, comparative mītior, superlative mītissimus); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mīti-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *m(e)h₁i-ti- (“soft”).^[2] Cognate with Welsh mwydion (“soft parts”), Old Irish mín (“soft, smooth”) and Sanskrit मयस् (máyas-, “refreshment, enjoyment”).^[2][3] De Vaan thinks the root may be a derivative of *meh₁- “to measure”, while Wiktionary notes that the origin is disputed.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.^[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was of fruit, “sweet and juicy, mellow”, as Varro says ripe service-berries keep.^[5] From there it spread to materials, “soft, yielding”, to forces, “mild, not violent”, and to conditions, “tolerable”, as a milder exile.^[5] Of people it meant kind, merciful or gentle in manner, and of climate mild, as Livy's fertile land and very mild sky.^[5]

Döderlein contrasts mītis “mild”, opposed to acerbus “harsh, sour”, with lēnis “gentle” and placidus “calm”.^[6] The derived verb mītigō “to soften” gave English mitigate in the early 15th century.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][4]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of ripe fruit.^[5][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy speaks of a very mild climate.^[5][4]
• early 15th century – English mitigate is recorded, from mītigāre.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of fruit) Sweet and juicy, mellow.^[5]
2. (of materials) Soft, yielding.^[5]
3. Not violent, mild, subdued.^[5]
4. (of conditions) Easy, tolerable.^[5]
5. (of persons) Kind, merciful, lenient.^[5]
6. Gentle, placid, tame.^[5]
7. (of weather) Mild, clement.^[5]

Word family

• immītis
• mītificō
• mītificus
• mītigō
• mitiusculus
• permītis
• praemitis

Related words

• mītigābiliter
• mītiganter
• mītigātiō
• mītigātīvus
• mītigātōrius
• lēnis
• placidus
• English mitigate

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes mītis (mild, the opposite of acerbus), lēnis (gentle, the opposite of vehemēns) and placidus (composed, the opposite of turbidus).^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com