clement

clement

See also: Clement, clément, and Clément

English

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin clēmēns (“merciful”).[1] [2] Equivalent to clīnō + participial suffix -menos.

Adjective

clement (comparative more clement, superlative most clement)

1. Lenient or merciful; charitable.
   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene iv], page 393, column 2:

     I know you are more clement than vilde^{[sic – meaning vile]} men, / Who of their broken Debtors take a third, / A ſixt, a tenth, letting them thriue againe / On their abatement; […]

   • 1888–1891, Herman Melville, “[Billy Budd, Foretopman.] Chapter 18.”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, OCLC 639975898:

     Your clement sentence they would account pusillanimous.

2. Mild (said of weather and similar circumstances).
   • 1984, Edna O'Brien, "The Bachelor" in A Fanatic Heart, New York: Plume, p. 66,

     The weather is clement, though there was a downpour yesterday and I was obliged to take precautions.

   • 1992, A. B. Yehoshua, Mr. Mani, translated by Hillel Halkin, New York: Doubleday, pp. 314-5,

     The earth was still dry and the air was perfectly clement.

Synonyms

• lenient
• merciful
• mild

Antonyms

• inclement

Related terms

• clemency

Translations

lenient or merciful; charitable

Bulgarian: милостив (bg) (milostiv), милосърден (bg) (milosǎrden) Finnish: armelias (fi), lempeä (fi) German: nachsichtig (de) Hebrew: רחוּם‎ m (ráhoom) Icelandic: miskunnsamur m Russian: милосе́рдный (ru) (milosérdnyj), милости́вый (ru) (milostívyj), гума́нный (ru) (gumánnyj)

mild

Bulgarian: мек (bg) (mek) Finnish: lauhkea (fi), leuto (fi) German: mild (de) Icelandic: mildur (is) m Russian: мя́гкий (ru) (mjáxkij) Swedish: mild (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Portuguese: clemente (pt)

References

1. clement in: T. F. Hoad, Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford University Press, 2003, →ISBN
2. “Clement”, in (please provide the title of the work)‎, (please provide a date or year)

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Romanian

Etymology

From French clément, from Latin clemens.

Adjective

clement m or n (feminine singular clementă, masculine plural clemenți, feminine and neuter plural clemente)

1. clement

Declension

Declension of clement

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	clement		clementă	clemenți	clemente
	definite	clementul		clementa	clemenții	clementele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	clement		clemente	clemenți	clemente
	definite	clementului		clementei	clemenților	clementelor