clement

See also: Clement, clément, and Clément

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈklɛmənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

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, [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 [HTTP://GUTENBERG.NET.AU/EBOOKS06/0608511H.HTML 18].”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, →OCLC:

     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, page 66:

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

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

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

Synonyms

• lenient
• merciful
• mild

Antonyms

• inclement

Derived terms

• clemently

 

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)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed 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

		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