mild

▪ I. † mild, n.¹ Obs. rare.
    [f. mild a.¹ Cf. ON. mildi, OHG. miltî.]
    Gentleness, pity.

c 1430 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 197 Lete mylde & meekenes [v.r. mylde mekenes] melte in þin herte. 1576 Gascoigne Philomene (Arb.) 112 Then Progne phy for thee, Which kildst thine only child, Phy on the cruel crabbed heart Which was not movde with milde.

▪ II. mild, n.²
    Eng. and U.S. dial var. of mile n.¹

1701 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1900) XXXVI. 83 To run the lien of mesuer from Ipswich meting howes..six mields. 1725 in Early Rec. Lancaster, Mass. (1884) 231 We traueled to Groten 12 milds... We marcht up the riuer about 8 milds. 1777 R. Lincoln Diary 7 July in Papers (1904) 15 They ware Engaged in Carring gun bots..over land about one mild into Lake George. 1836 Knickerbocker VIII. 352, I expect we are a mild and a half from the city. 1886 F. T. Elworthy West Somerset Word-Bk. 476, I count 'tis up vower mild yer-vrom. 1903 Dialect Notes II. 321, I haven't walked a mild in a year. 1927 Amer. Speech III. 10 Most natives [sc. Ozarkers] use mile for both singular and plural, but some of the old-timers use the plural form mild.

▪ III. mild, a.
    (maɪld)
    Forms: 1–7 milde, 3–6 myld(e, 5 myelde, myyld, 5–6 myild(e, 6 miled, 3– mild.
    [Com. Teut.: OE. milde = OFris. milde, OS. mildi (MDu. milde, Du. mild), OHG. milti (MHG. milte, mod.G. mild), ON. mild-r (Sw., Da. mild), Goth. -mild-s (in compounds, friaþwamildjai masc. pl., loving, unmildjai masc. pl., unkind; also in derivative mildiþa kindness):—OTeut. *milđjo-, *milđi-, f. Indogermanic root *meldh- (:moldh- :mldh), whence Gr. µαλθακός soft, mild, OIrish meldach tender, Skr. mṛdh to neglect, also to be moist.]
    1. Of persons, their disposition and behaviour. a. (Chiefly of a superior, e.g. a king): Kind, considerate, gracious, merciful, indulgent; not harsh or severe. Now rare or Obs.

a 725 Laws K. Wihtræd Prol., Ðam mildestan cyninge Cantwara Wihtræde rixiᵹendum. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 483 Þat tyme Theobald þe mylde [L. pius], eorle of Campania, was in his floures. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 1046 Remember with what mild And gracious temper he both heard and judg'd Without wrauth or reviling. 1725 Pope Odyss. xiv. 160 So mild a master never shall I find. 1832 J. A. Heraud Voy. & Mem. Midshipm. ix. (1837) 157 This mild prince..is deservedly popular with his..subjects.

    b. Applied to God, Christ, and the Virgin Mary. Obs. exc. in traditional collocations.

971 Blickl. Hom. 71 Secggaþ Siones dohtrum þæt heora cining cymeþ, milde & monþwære. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 21 Þus mildeliche andswerede þe milde quen of heuene. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2411 Milde Iesu. a 1300 Cursor M. 24748 Quen i ma mening o þat mild [the Virgin]. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 47 His mild modir seynt marye. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 84 Thow blissit Virgin mylde. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 121 Libertie would availe me nothing, if Christ by his most milde incarnation had not taken away our captivitie. a 1729 J. Rogers 19 Serm. i. (1735) 5 It teaches us..to adore him as a mild and merciful Being, of infinite Love..to his Creatures. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. xxix, Ave Maria! maiden mild! 1828 Bp. A. Jolly Sunday Serv. (1848) 206 This mild Majesty of God incarnate..was now about to ascend to Heaven.

    c. const. to or † dative; occas. † with.

971 Blickl. Hom. 47 God biþ milde þæm monnum þe..on hine ᵹelefaþ. c 1205 Lay. 14802 He [Vortimer] wes milde ælche cnafe. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1775 Wið heore cunne heo beoþ mildre. 13.. Assump. Virg. 888 (Add. MS.) For oure ladi hure schal be mylde. a 1450 Myrc 29 In worde and dede þou moste be mylde Bothe to mon and to chylde. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 165 Yet is he milde to those that aske forgiuenesse. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 58 They erect a stone over the head of the deceased, to serve for a seat to the Angels who are to examine him, that they may be the milder to him.

    d. Gentle and conciliatory in disposition or behaviour; not easily provoked, and giving no offence to others; not rough or fierce in manners.
    In mod. prose used with more or less disparaging implication: cf. 6 b.

a 1000 Guthlac 711 (Gr.) Swa þæt milde mod..dryhtne þeowde. c 1200 Ormin 2938 Milde he [Joseph] wass..I þatt he nollde wreȝenn Þatt wimmann þatt wass gilltelæs. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 83 Drede is such a Mayster Þat he makeþ Men Meoke and Mylde of heore speche. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 173 And þere ynne beþ more mylde peple [L. quæ gentem habet magis piam, contrasted with feras gentes]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 337/2 Myyld, and buxum, pius, benignus, mansuetus. 1530 Palsgr. 776/1, I have knowen hym a heedye felowe, but he is waxen mylde nowe: je lay congneu vng testart, mays il se est bien humylié mayntenant. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. xii. 42 Most bitter wordes they spake..That they the mildest man alive would make Forget his patience. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) II. liv. 63 A harsh Mother may bring forth sometimes a mild daughter. 1720 Pope Iliad xxiv. 963 In whom the gods had join'd The mildest manners with the bravest mind. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. ii. 53 The mildest spirit might well have been roused by this.

absol. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 113 Drihten..on-hefð þa mildan. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxiv. (Alexis) 103 Syne dyliuere was þat myld, thru godis helpe, of a knaf chyld. 1813 H. G. Knight Alashtar iii. xiii, Let the weak bewail! Well may the mild, the woman-hearted fail.

    e. of looks, language, etc.

Beowulf 1172 Sprec mildum wordum. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 45 Þa onswerede him drihten mildere steuene. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 123 Þe ilke louerd..Þe þus lokeð of heuene to men mid his milde eȝen. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 1013 Hure voys was bothe myelde & swete. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 36 With such mylde aunsweres he put off the tyme. 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. (1788) 266 But this language is too mild for the occasion. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 759 Their features are extremely mild and pleasing. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab iii. 158 His mild eye beams benevolence no more. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxii. IV. 754 If he sometimes stooped to be a villain—for no milder word will come up to the truth.

    f. of rule, punishment, treatment of persons, influence, and the like. Now chiefly in compar.: Less severe.

1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades ii. viii. (1592) 191 But this kind of quieting and setting parties at one, is verie milde in comparison of reuengement and punishment. a 1645 Waller Pens-Hurst i. 44 Ah! cruel Nymph!..her humble swaine..from the winds and tempests doth expect A milder fate then from her cold neglect! c 1655 Milton Sonn., ‘When I consider’, Who best Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. iv. viii. (1869) II. 232 The penalties imposed by this milder statute. 1825 Macaulay Ess., Milton (1899) 17 But..why not adopt milder measures? 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 73 The South..was put under the milder rule of the Bishop.

    g. in proverbial similes, as mild as a dove, mild as May, mild as milk, etc.

1530 Palsgr. 626/2 Whan he is angryest of all I can make hym as mylde as a lambe. 1599 ? Shakes. Pass. Pilgr. vii, Faire is my loue, but not so faire as fickle; Milde as a Doue, but neither true nor trustie. 1704 Pope Pastorals, Spring 81 Sylvia's like autumn ripe, yet mild as May. 1874 T. Hardy Madding Crowd iv, A temper as mild as milk.

    † h. mild mother (tr. pia mater): see mother.
    2. a. Of an animal: Tame, gentle; not wild or fierce. (Obs. exc. as directly transf. from 1 d.)

c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 39/183 Þe Bollokes and þe ȝoungue steores þat weren er so wilde, Anon so huy touward heom come huy woxen tame and milde. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 275 Egydie after an hynde cryede, And þorw þe mylke of þat mylde best þe man was susteyned. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 39 Of so good mesure He song, that he the bestes wilde Made of his note tame and milde. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 310 Among wild Beasts: they at his sight grew mild. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. 254 Mild, peaceful, and brave, it [the elephant] never abuses its power or its strength. 1801 J. Jones tr. B{yacu}gge's Trav. Fr. Rep. viii. 154 The menagerie seems to be separated into two parts, the one for mild animals, and the other for wild and ferocious. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 476/1 The Kinkajou is very mild in captivity.

    b. Of a plant: Cultivated, not wild. Obs. rare.

1601 Holland Pliny II. 168 As many vertues as the mild fig-tree hath, yet the wild is much more effectuall.

    3. Of weather, etc.: Not rough or stormy, not sharp or severe; calm, fine, and moderately warm. Of a climate: Temperate.

14.. Seven Deadly Sins 3 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 215 Apon a mylde mornyng of may. 1530 Palsgr. 318/2 Mylde of wether, paisible. 1634 Milton Comus 4 In Regions milde of calm and serene Ayr. 1714 Gay Trivia i. 144 Signs..Of milder weather, and serener skies. 1819 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 793 Spring..Whose mild winds shake the elder brake. 1892 E. Lawless Grania I. 1 A mild September afternoon.

fig. 1608 Shakes. Per. iii. i. 27 Now mylde may be thy life, For a more blusterous birth had neuer Babe.

    4. Of light, or a luminous body: Shining with tempered lustre, softly radiant.

a 1645 Waller To Yng. Lady Lucy Sidney 10 The rosy morne resignes her light, And milder glory to the Noon. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat., Theol. xviii. (1852) I. 367 The Governor of the Universe is a more discernible object,..clothed with milder rays of glory. 1819 Keats Lamia i. 382 A silver lamp, whose phosphor glow Reflected in the slabbed steps below, Mild as a star in water. 1832 Standish Maid of Jaen 21 The moon's mild orb was shining seen.

    5. a. Of a medicine: Operating gently; not violent or strong in its effects. Of food, tobacco, etc.: Soft to the palate, not rough or sharp or strong in taste or odour, not over-stimulating or over-feeding. Of pathological secretions: Not acrid or irritating.

a 1400–50 Alexander 4824 Was neuir no mede ne no milke so mild vndire heuen. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 58 b, The smoother the leafe is, the mileder and the sweeter is the roote. 1652 Culpepper Eng. Physic. 12 The milde Arsmart is good against hot Imposthumes. 1732 Arbuthnot Rules of Diet in Aliments, etc. 257 Anti-acids of a milder kind. 1768 Bickerstaff Lionel & Clarissa i. (1786) 9 Why, one bottle [of hock] won't hurt you, man—this is old, and as mild as milk. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 62 The matter discharged is whitish and mild, producing no excoriation..or other disquiet. 1831 Youatt Horse x. 171 A very mild dose of physic. 1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery 122 Mild Ragout of Garlic... By changing very frequently the water in which it is boiled, the root will be deprived of its naturally pungent flavour and smell, and rendered extremely mild. 1855 Anti-Maud xxix, Sipping their Seltzer and Hock, and smoking a mild cigar. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 614 The milder form of sulphur lotion is preferable.

fig. 1781 Cowper Charity 502 Most satirists are indeed a public scourge; Their mildest physic is a farrier's purge.

    b. Of ale or beer: In early use app. free from acidity, not sour or ‘stale’; now applied to those kinds that are not strongly flavoured with hops (opposed to bitter). Also absol. = mild ale. mild-and-bitter, a mixture of mild and bitter ale or beer. For the phr. to draw it mild see draw v. 40 b.

1626 Bacon Sylva §52 A good draught of Milde Beer. 1717 Prior Alma ii. 203 Suppose your eyes sent equal rays Upon two distant pots of ale, Not knowing which was mild or stale. 1818 W. Kitchiner Cook's Oracle (ed. 2) 502 Cool Tankard, or Beer Cup. A quart of mild ale, a glass of white wine, one of brandy [etc.]. 1886 ‘John Bickerdyke’ Curios. Ale & Beer 391 A pint..of mild beer, half a pint of brandy [etc.]. 1889 A. Barnard Noted Breweries I. 357 Cellars..for racking and storing mild ales. 1894 A. Morrison Martin Hewitt ii. 63 ‘Had his glass o'beer, has he?’..‘Has two glasses of mild a-day... Never puts on flesh.’ 1933 D. L. Sayers Hangman's Holiday 157 Half of mild-and-bitter, please. 1944 Dylan Thomas Let. 21 Sept. (1966) 267 It is time for the Black Lion But there is only Buckley's unfriskly Mild. 1951 E. Hyams Sylvester xxiv. 121 The chaps in the local, drinking a pint of mild and bitter. 1957 J. Braine Room at Top ii. 22 We used to..live on onions and cheese washed down with mild-and-bitter. 1963 Times 25 May 9/7 ‘But t'brig isn't t'world’, a sewing-shop overlooker says over his gill of mild. 1974 ‘W. Haggard’ Kinsmen vii. 70 He went to the bar. Mysteriously four evident locals were already inside and drinking mild.

    c. Of a disease, or an attack of disease: Not severe or acute.

1744 Berkeley Siris §3 Others had it [small-pox] in the mildest manner. 1800 Med. Jrnl. IV. 187 The inoculated Cow-Pox is a much milder and safer disease than the inoculated Small-Pox. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 401 The..genius of Butler, if it did not altogether escape the prevailing infection, took the disease in a mild form.

    6. a. Of bodily exercise: Moderate, gentle, easy. Of amusement or recreation: Not boisterous, not exuberant in enjoyment or mirth.

1831 Youatt Horse x. 171 Mild exercise should be used. 1882 A. Bain Jas. Mill 388 There should also be social amusements of a mild character, such as to promote cheerfulness rather than profuse merriment.

    b. Used sarcastically to connote tameness or feebleness (in persons and their actions), where audacity, cleverness, recklessness, etc. might have been expected.

1885 Sat. Rev. 7 Feb. 166/1 Most of us have no wish to cheat railway Companies by travelling first class at third-class prices, but there are ingenious adventurers who practise this mild swindle. 1886 Pall Mall G. 2 Oct. 3 A mild attempt to anarchize English grammar. 1897 Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang, Mild bloater, weak young man who has pretensions to being horsey. Mod. We had a mild game of whist.

    † 7. Chem. ? Neutral. Obs.

1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 6 Mild Calx (so I call lime united with fixed air). 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IX. 346/2 The brown calx of iron united with the white calx of manganese, and mild calcareous earth in various proportions. 1799 Kirwan Geol. Ess. 149 The limestone of Malta contains both calcareous earth and magnesia, but most probably in a mild state. Ibid., The selenite is decomposed by the mild magnesia contained in the stone.

    8. a. Of soil, wood: Soft, easy to work. dial.

1852 C. W. Hoskyns Talpa xix. 163 This'll be mild enough for anything presently; you don't call this a stiff soil? 1875 T. Laslett Timber xiv. 84 The Modena, Roman, and Sardinian [Oaks] are what the workmen call milder in character—that is to say, they are easier to work, and a little less hard than the former [kinds]. 1880 Jefferies Gt. Estate ix. 164 ‘These old French burrs be the best stone; they be hard, but they be mild and takes the peck well.’

    b. mild steel: steel containing only a small precentage of carbon, of great strength and toughness, but not readily tempered or hardened.

1868 Joynson Metals 90 What is called in the trade ‘homogeneous iron’ is a species of ‘mild-steel’, and has been introduced by a Sheffield firm. 1884 W. H. Greenwood Steel & Iron 202 The mild steels produced by the Siemens and the Bessemer processes. Ibid. 399 The elongation of the milder qualities of steel before fracture occurs is superior to that of malleable iron.

    c. Physics. (See quot.)

1878 J. C. Maxwell in Encycl. Brit. VI. 312/1 A body which can have its form permanently changed without any flaw or break taking place is called mild. When the force required is small the body is said to be soft; when it is great the body is said to be tough.

    ¶ 9. Peculiarly used by Byron. Of a slope: Gentle. Of a wood: Not thorny.

1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxvii, Upon a mild declivity of hill. 1823 ― Island ii. xx, For even the mildest woods will have their thorn.

    10. Used poet. in the place of an adv., = mildly.

a 900 Cynewulf Crist 249 (Gr.) Þu þisne middanᵹeard milde ᵹeblissa þurh ðinne hercyme, hælende Crist! 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 110 And thus the Godlike Angel answerd milde. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 1098 The pale deluge..streaming mild O'er the sky'd mountain to the shadowy vale. 1739 C. Wesley Christmas Hymn 21 Mild he lays his Glory by, Born—that Man no more may die. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 443 As oft As the sun peeps and vernal airs breathe mild.

    11. Comb. (chiefly parasynthetic and adverbial), as mild-aspected, † mild-aspecting, mild-brewed, mild-cured, mild-eyed, mild-faced, mild-flavoured, mild-mannered, mild-mooned, † mild-persuading, mild-scented, mild-seeming, mild-spirited († mild-sprited), mild-spoken, mild-tempered, mild-worded adjs.

1597 Drayton Heroic Ep., Isab. to Mortimer 17 That blessed night, that *mild-aspected howre, Wherein thou mad'st escape out of the Towre.

1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. C 6 b, On Sea the *mild-aspecting heauens would guide me.

1905 W. L. Courtney Father Time & Childr. in Queen's Christmas Carol 95 October comes to give men cheer, With purple grapes and *mild-brewed beer!

1832 Tennyson Lotos-Eaters 27 The *mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came.

1862 Howells Venet. Life vii, A very *mild-faced old priest.

1575–85 Abp. Sandys Serm. xvi. 284 Let her bee milde-worded and *milde-manered. 1821 Byron Juan iii. xli, He was the mildest manner'd man That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat.

1819 Keats Lamia i. 156 A deep volcanian yellow took the place Of all her *milder-mooned body's grace.

1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. D 3 b, In *mild-perswading words and deedes.

1776–96 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 677 Prickly, or *Mild-scented Lettuce.

a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1598) 386 The sheepe [gave] *mild-seeming face.

1607 T. Campion Maske B 4 b, *Mild sprited Zephyrus haile. 1712–27 Arbuthnot John Bull i. v. Miscell. II. 12 The Neighbours reported that he was Henpeck't, which was impossible, by such a mild spirited Woman, as his Wife was.

1727 Art Speaking in Publick vi. 84 An Orator ought not to be too Remiss, neither in his Action, nor too *Mild-spoken. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxix, You're always so mild spoken.

1747 tr. Astruc's Fevers 169 A cold *mild-tempered easy patient. 1575–85 *Milde-worded [see mild-mannered].

▪ IV. † mild, v. Obs.
    [f. mild a. OE. had mildian intr., to become mild.]
    trans. To make mild or gentle. Also refl.

1340 Ayenb. 117 We byeþ þe more ymylded and þe dreduoller. Ibid. 177 Þeruore ssel þe zeneȝere him mildi ase moche are ha may beuore god. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. cxcvii. 203 This message mylded nothyng the kynges courage. 1627–47 Feltham Resolves i. xvi. 55 As for man, it [the Gospel] teaches him to tread on cottons, milds his wilder temper.

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