An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/mild

by Friedrich Kluge

mild, adjective, ‘mild, meek, gentle,’ from Middle High German milte, ‘friendly, kind, liberal, gracious,’ Old High German mil(illegible text)i; compare Old Saxon mildi, Anglo-Saxon milde, English mild, Gothic mildeis (hardly *milds), adjective, ‘loving, mild’; a common Teutonic adjective of disputed origin. A word corresponding exactly in sound does not occur in the cognate languages. Latin mollis, if it represents *molvis, *moldvis (like suâvis for *suâdvis; compare süß); might with Teutonic *mildu-, ‘mild,’ belong to the root mol, ‘to grind,’ with which also Old Irish mláith (primary form mlâti-), ‘soft, gentle,’ or Old Irish meldach, ‘pleasant,’ is connected.