Etymologically
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mitis

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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
  • 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