leidlich

German

Etymology

From Middle High German līdelich (“patient, enduring”, later also “endurable”). Analysable as leiden (“to suffer”) +‎ -lich (“-ly, -able”); compare similar English sufferable.

There was also another adjective, Middle High German leitlich (“painful, sorrowful”), from Old High German leidlīh, which, at least in spelling, was merged with the above in early modern German and which might have influenced the meaning (though this seems not particularly likely). This latter adjective is cognate with Dutch lelijk (“ugly”), English loathly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪ̯tlɪç/

• Audio:

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Adjective

leidlich (not comparable)

1. tolerable; passable; mediocre (only just good enough; not good, but not extremely bad either)

   Er ist ein leidlicher Tennisspieler.

   He’s a mediocre tennis player.

Synonyms

• passabel (sometimes more positive)

Adverb

leidlich

1. tolerably; passably; halfway; more or less

Synonyms

• einigermaßen
• halbwegs