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. Conciliatory, nonpolemical; gentle in tone.
   • 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 196:

     Between 1890 and 1910 his political writing became distinctly milder in tone as his mind moved in the direction of evolutionary socialism.

4. 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.

5. (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).

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

   a mild day

   mild weather

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

   a mild anaesthetic

8. (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

• amnestic mild cognitive impairment
• draw it mild
• mild as milk
• mildish
• mildly
• mild-mannered
• mildness
• mild sauce
• mild steel
• mild-tempered
• overmild

Translations

gentle; pleasant; kind; soft

• Azerbaijani: yumşaq (az), ürəyiyumşaq, mülayim (az), həlim (az)
• Bulgarian: благ (bg) (blag), мек (bg) (mek)
• Catalan: suau (ca)
• Chamicuro: pe'cha
• Chinese: 溫和的, 温和的
• Czech: mírný (cs) m
• Dutch: mild (nl), zacht (nl)
• Esperanto: milda
• Finnish: lempeä (fi), säyseä (fi)
• French: doux (fr) m, douce (fr) f
• Georgian: რბილი (rbili)
• German: mild (de), ausgeglichen (de), ^{(please verify)} zahm (de)
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃 (sutis)
• Greek: ήπιος (el) (ípios)

  Ancient Greek: πραΰς (praǘs), ἤπιος (ḗpios)

• Interlingua: blande
• Irish: séimh
• Italian: delicato (it) m, delicata (it) f, mite (it) m or f, lene
• Japanese: 穏やか (ja) (おだやか, odayaka), 緩やか (ja) (ゆるやか, yuruyaka), 温厚 (ja) (おんこう, onkō)
• Korean: 온화한 (onhwahan)
• Latin: lēnis (la), clēmēns, cicur
• Latvian: mīksts (lv), viegls
• Macedonian: благ m (blag), кроток m (krotok)
• Māori: māhaki, ngākau māhaki
• Occitan: suau (oc)
• Old English: wēþe
• Persian: ملایم (fa) (molâyem)
• Plautdietsch: lind
• Polish: łagodny (pl)
• Portuguese: suave (pt) m or f, gentil (pt) m or f
• Russian: мя́гкий (ru) (mjáxkij), сла́бый (ru) (slábyj)
• Slovak: mierny
• Spanish: suave (es), leve (es), lene (es), lieve (es)
• Tongan: vaivai
• Walloon: doûs (wa) m, plaijhant (wa) m, avnant (wa) m
• Welsh: mwyn (cy)

(illness or pain) not serious or dangerous

• Finnish: lievä (fi)
• French: léger (fr), bénin (fr) m, bénigne (fr) f
• German: mild (de), schwach (de)
• Italian: lieve (it)
• Portuguese: leve (pt)
• Slovak: mierny
• Spanish: leve (es), lene (es), lieve (es)
• Swedish: mild (sv) c, lätt (sv)
• Walloon: nén gråve m or f, ledjir (wa) m

warm and pleasant of weather — see also warm,‎ moderate,‎ temperate

• Arabic: مُعْتَدِل (muʕtadil)
• Bulgarian: мек (bg) (mek), умерен (bg) (umeren)
• Finnish: leuto (fi)
• French: doux (fr) m
• German: mild (de)

  Alemannic German: zam

• Hindi: शीतोष्ण (hi) (śītoṣṇa)
• Irish: séimh
• Māori: hātai
• Portuguese: ameno (pt) m
• Slovak: mierny
• Spanish: bonancible (es), ameno (es)
• Swedish: milt (sv) n
• Walloon: doûs (wa) m

acting gently and without causing harm

• Finnish: mieto (fi)
• German: mild (de)
• Irish: séimh
• Swedish: skonsam (sv) c, mild (sv) c
• Walloon: doûs (wa) m

not sharp or bitter; not strong in flavor

• Bulgarian: слаб (bg) (slab)
• Finnish: mieto (fi)
• German: mild (de)
• Irish: séimh
• Polish: łagodny (pl)
• Spanish: suave (es), no muy alampante, leve (es), lene (es), lieve (es)
• Swedish: mild (sv) c
• Walloon: ledjir (wa) m

Noun

mild (plural milds)

1. (UK) 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

• “mild”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “mild”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “mild”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mil/, [milˀ]

Adjective

mild (neuter mildt, plural and definite singular attributive milde)

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

Inflection

Inflection of mild

	positive	comparative	superlative
indefinite 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.

References

• “mild” in Den Danske Ordbog

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

Declension

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

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 (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

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

1. mild (in all of its common senses)

Declension

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

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

Inflection of mild

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	mild	mildare	mildast
neuter singular	milt	mildare	mildast
plural	milda	mildare	mildast
masculine plural2	milde	mildare	mildast
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	milde	mildare	mildaste
all	milda	mildare	mildaste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Derived terms

• du milde
• givmild
• gråtmild
• milda makter
• milda tider
• mildhet
• mildväder
• mildögd
• omild
• så till den milda grad
• tårmild

Related terms

• mildra

References

• “mild”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “mild”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “mild”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• 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