Wiktionary

mild

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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  • enPR: mīld IPA(key): /ˈmaɪld/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪld

Adjective

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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

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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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

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Further reading

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Danish

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Etymology

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From Old Norse mildr.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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mild

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

Inflection

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Inflection of mild
Positive Comparative Superlative
Indefinte common singular mild mildere mildest2
Indefinite neuter singular mildt mildere mildest2
Plural milde mildere mildest2
Definite attributive1 milde mildere mildeste
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Dutch

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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mild (comparative milder, superlative mildst)

  1. mild

Declension

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Declension of mild
uninflected mild
inflected milde
comparative milder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial mild milder het mildst
het mildste
indefinite m./f. sing. milde mildere mildste
n. sing. mild milder mildste
plural milde mildere mildste
definite milde mildere mildste
partitive milds milders —

German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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

  1. mild (in all of its common senses)

Declension

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Positive forms of mild
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist mild sie ist mild es ist mild sie sind mild
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative milder milde mildes milde
genitive milden milder milden milder
dative mildem milder mildem milden
accusative milden milde mildes milde
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der milde die milde das milde die milden
genitive des milden der milden des milden der milden
dative dem milden der milden dem milden den milden
accusative den milden die milde das milde die milden
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein milder eine milde ein mildes (keine) milden
genitive eines milden einer milden eines milden (keiner) milden
dative einem milden einer milden einem milden (keinen) milden
accusative einen milden eine milde ein mildes (keine) milden
Comparative forms of mild
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist milder sie ist milder es ist milder sie sind milder
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative milderer mildere milderes mildere
genitive milderen milderer milderen milderer
dative milderem milderer milderem milderen
accusative milderen mildere milderes mildere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der mildere die mildere das mildere die milderen
genitive des milderen der milderen des milderen der milderen
dative dem milderen der milderen dem milderen den milderen
accusative den milderen die mildere das mildere die milderen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein milderer eine mildere ein milderes (keine) milderen
genitive eines milderen einer milderen eines milderen (keiner) milderen
dative einem milderen einer milderen einem milderen (keinen) milderen
accusative einen milderen eine mildere ein milderes (keine) milderen
Superlative forms of mild
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am mildesten sie ist am mildesten es ist am mildesten sie sind am mildesten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative mildester mildeste mildestes mildeste
genitive mildesten mildester mildesten mildester
dative mildestem mildester mildestem mildesten
accusative mildesten mildeste mildestes mildeste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der mildeste die mildeste das mildeste die mildesten
genitive des mildesten der mildesten des mildesten der mildesten
dative dem mildesten der mildesten dem mildesten den mildesten
accusative den mildesten die mildeste das mildeste die mildesten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein mildester eine mildeste ein mildestes (keine) mildesten
genitive eines mildesten einer mildesten eines mildesten (keiner) mildesten
dative einem mildesten einer mildesten einem mildesten (keinen) mildesten
accusative einen mildesten eine mildeste ein mildestes (keine) mildesten

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From Old Norse mildr.

Adjective

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

  1. mild, gentle, lenient

Derived terms

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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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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

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References

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Saterland Frisian

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Etymology

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

Adjective

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mild

  1. mild; gentle

Swedish

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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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

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Inflection of mild
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular mild mildare mildast
Neuter singular milt mildare mildast
Plural milda mildare mildast
Masculine plural3 milde mildare mildast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 milde mildare mildaste
All milda mildare mildaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
3) Dated or archaic

Derived terms

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References

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