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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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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