mitis

Meaning

1. (declension-3, two-termination) mild, mellow, mature, ripe; sweet, juicy, succulent
2. (declension-3, two-termination) light, fruitful, mellow.
3. (declension-3, two-termination) calm, gentle, placid
4. (declension-3, two-termination) peaceful, pleasant, clement, calm
5. (declension-3, figuratively, two-termination) soft, tolerable, meek, peaceful, gentle, mild

Concepts

soft

mature

gentle

tender

pappy

ripe

kind

mild

Opposite of

violēns, obstreperus, clāmātōrius, trux, ferōx, atrōx, silvāticus, ācer

Synonyms

lenis

malacus

mollis

benignus

Translations

weich

fofo

plàstic

schwammig

molle

brando

feble

suau

tou

schwabbelig

bla

mou

moll

mals

macio

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈmiː.tɪs]

Etymology

Of unclear origin, with multiple competing theories.
The prevailing etymology connects Old Irish méth (“plump, fat”), Welsh mwyd (“act of soaking”), Welsh mwydion (“soft parts”) (from Proto-Celtic *meitos (“soft, plump”)); Old Irish mín (“soft; gentle, smooth; mild, tender, calm”) (Proto-Celtic *mīnis); and Old Irish moíth (“soft, tender”) (Proto-Celtic *moitos), together from Proto-Indo-European *meyh₁- (“mild, soft”). Other potential Indo-European cognates also point to a meaning like “pleasant”: Sanskrit मयस् (máyas, “pleasure, enjoyment, refreshment”), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬵 (maiiah, “pleasure”), Proto-Slavic *mìlъ (“soft, mild, gentle, agreeable, pleasant, sweet, dear”), Lithuanian mielas (“nice, sweet, cute”), Latvian mīls (“dear, cherished, beloved”), Old Prussian mijls (“dear”). De Vaan suggests that the root *meyh₁- is actually *meh₁i-, being originally an extension of *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Alternatively, Oettinger compares Hittite 𒈠𒀀𒄿𒀭𒍣 (ma-a-i-an-zi, “to grow (up); to prosper”), reconstructing Proto-Indo-European *meyH- (“to ripen”); Kloekhorst rejects this on both semantic and formal grounds.
Plötz suggests it to be a zero-grade extension of the prohibitive particle *meh₁i, specifically labeling it a derivative from *mh₁i-tis.