Mildenesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Archaic term for gentleness, softness of temper, or a kind and tender disposition towards others
2. An old-fashioned word for the quality of being gentle, meek, and patient in manner or character
3. Obsolete noun meaning gentleness of disposition, the state of being kind, soft, and forbearing

Etymology: Mildenesse is a Middle English noun meaning gentleness, mildness, or kindness, and it is the source of modern "mildness" in its older sense. It was formed by adding the suffix "-nesse" (an Old English-derived abstract noun ending, the ancestor of "-ness") to the adjective "milde," which came from Old English "milde," meaning gentle, merciful, or kind. The adjective's older sense was closer to "kind" or "merciful" than to today's idea of something bland or not strong. The spelling "-nesse" was common in Middle English, when writers were still shaping the language's endings, and the form largely gave way to "-nes" and then "-ness" by the early modern period. Chaucer and other medieval writers used "mildenesse" in discussions of virtue, where it described a gentle, forgiving disposition rather than a mild taste or temperature.

Synonyms: mildness, gentleness, meekness, clemency, leniency

Antonyms: harshness, severity, cruelty, rigour, austerity