mild English · revision 7615

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 725|origins=gem-pro *milþijaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmaɪld/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English mild, milde, [[inh|ang|milde|t=gentle, merciful, gracious]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *milþjaz,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Old Norse mildr, which also contributed to the English word, Old Saxon mildi, Dutch [[m|nl|mild]], German [[m|de|milde]] and Gothic mildiþa, kindness.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It goes back to PIE *meldʰ-,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) also the source of Greek malthakós, soft,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) and related to Latin [[m|la|mollis|t=soft]] and to [[melt]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of persons, especially rulers, kind, gracious, merciful: before 725.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ NODE notes that it originally meant gracious, not severe in command.^(NODE 1998) It was applied to God, Christ and the Virgin from 971,^(OED 1989) and in Old English was also an adverb, mercifully, graciously.^(Etymonline) Of weather, not rough or stormy, it is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and of medicine, gentle in effect, from about 1400 (the 14th century in Hoad).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Of rule or punishment, moderate, not hard to endure, it is by the 1570s,^(Etymonline) and of disease from 1744.^(Etymonline) The Century Dictionary noted that mild is chiefly a word of nature or character, while gentle is chiefly a word of action.^(Etymonline) In Britain mild is also a draught beer, darker and less hopped than bitter.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 725 – gracious, merciful.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 971 – of God and Christ.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – of weather.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – of medicine.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – of punishment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1744 – of disease.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[gentle|alt=Gentle]] or kind in nature or behaviour.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not strong or harsh in taste or effect: ''a mild curry''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Moderate; not extreme: ''a mild rebuke''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of weather, warm and pleasant.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of an illness, not [[severe]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(British)'' A dark draught [[beer]] with less flavour of hops than bitter.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mildly]]

+ * [[mildness]]

+ * [[overmild]]

+ * [[mild steel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[melt]]

+ * [[mollify]]

+ * [[mollusc]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The OED records an English and American dialect mild, a variant of [[mile]].^(OED 1989) In Orkney a mild was a kind of fish.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}