mansuetude

See also: mansuétude

English

WOTD – 30 January 2009

Etymology

Via Middle French mansuetude or directly from Latin mansuētūdō, from mansuētus, perfect passive participle of mansuēscō (“I tame”), from manus (“hand”) + suēscō (“become accustomed”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈman.swɪ.tjuːd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mænˈsuət(j)ud/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

mansuetude (countable and uncountable, plural mansuetudes)

1. (archaic) Gentleness, tameness.
   • 1647, Henry Hammond, Of Fraternal Admonition Or Correption, page 5:

     That I use all mildness or mansuetude in admonishing; the angry passionate correption being rather apt to provoke, than to amend.

   • 1972, Patrick O'Brian, Post Captain:

     Quo me rapis? Quo indeed. My whole conduct, meekness, mansuetude, voluntary abasement, astonishes me.

   • 2008 October 8, Angry Professor, “A malison on the poor of spirit.”, in A Gentleman's C‎^[1]:

     With mansuetude (compossible with my muliebrity), I condemn those niddering, olid morons who, in caliginosity of understanding, vilipend our English by attempting to exuviate words for which they cannot see any present custom.

Translations

gentleness, meekness

• Catalan: mansuetud f
• Italian: mansuetudine (it) f
• Polish: łagodność (pl) m, delikatność (pl)
• Portuguese: mansuetude (pt) f, mansidão (pt) f
• Russian: доброду́шие (ru) n (dobrodúšije)
• Spanish: caballerosidad (es)

Portuguese

Noun

mansuetude f (plural mansuetudes)

1. mansuetude; tameness

   Synonym: mansidão