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mild

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "mild", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "mild" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "mild" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

mild is anEnglishadj. It means: Gentle and not easily angered. Pronounced /ˈmaɪld/. It ranks #5,982 in English word frequency. Often confused with ML and mix.

Key facts for mild
PropertyValue
Headwordmild
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
IPA/ˈmaɪld/
Letters4
Frequency rank#5,982
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of mild in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for mild is 4 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmaɪld/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,982 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for mild, with forms such as "imld", "midl", and "mildd". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ML", "mix", "min", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 (“mil… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is mild, spelled M-I-L-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Gentle and not easily angered.
  2. 2
    Of only moderate severity; not strict.
  3. 3
    Not overly felt or seriously intended.
  4. 4
    Not serious or dangerous.
  5. 5
    Moderately warm, especially less cold than expected.
  6. 6
    Acting gently and without causing harm.
  7. 7
    Not sharp or bitter; not strong in flavor.

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.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imld,midl,mildd,milld,mlid,mmild

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for mild

Misspelling Variants of "mild"

imld4midl4mildd5milld5mlid4mmild5
Misspelling Variants of "mild"

Frequency rank: #5,982 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mild"?
"mild" is spelled M-I-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmaɪld/.
What does "mild" mean?
As an adj, "mild" means: Gentle and not easily angered.
What words are commonly confused with "mild"?
"mild" is commonly confused with "ML", "mix", "min". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mild"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mild" is /ˈmaɪld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mild"?
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 ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.