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lenient - 5 dictionary results
le⋅ni⋅ent
[lee-nee-uh
nt, leen-yuhnt] 
–adjective
| 1. | agreeably tolerant; permissive; indulgent: He tended to be lenient toward the children. More lenient laws encouraged greater freedom of expression. |
| 2. | Archaic. softening, soothing, or alleviative. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To lenient
| le·ni·ent (lē'nē-ənt, lēn'yənt) adj. Inclined not to be harsh or strict; merciful, generous, or indulgent: lenient parents; lenient rules. [Obsolete French, from Latin lēniēns, lēnient-, present participle of lēnīre, to pacify, from lēnis, soft; see lē- in Indo-European roots.] le'ni·ent·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lenient
Le"ni*ent\ (l[=e]"n[i^]*ent or l[=e]n"yent), a. [L. leniens, -entis, p. pr. of lenire to soften, fr. lenis soft, mild. Cf. Lithe.]1. Relaxing; emollient; softening; assuasive; -- sometimes followed by of. "Lenient of grief." --Milton. Of relax the fibers, are lenient, balsamic. --Arbuthnot. Time, that on all things lays his lenient hand. --Pope. 2. Mild; clement; merciful; not rigorous or severe; as, a lenient disposition; a lenient judge or sentence.Lenient
Le"ni*ent\, n. (Med.) A lenitive; an emollient.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : lenient
Spanish:
clemente, indulgente,
German:
nachsichtig,
Japanese:
寛大な
lenient
1652, "relaxing, soothing," from M.Fr. lenient, from L. lenientem (nom. leniens), prp. of lenire "to soften, alleviate, mitigate, allay, calm," from lenis "mild, gentle, calm," probably from PIE base *le(i)- "to leave, yield" (cf. Lith. lenas "quiet, tranquil, tame, slow," O.C.S. lena "lazy," L. lassus "faint, weary," O.E. læt "sluggish, slow," lætan "to leave behind"). Sense of "mild, merciful" (of persons) first recorded 1787. In earlier use was lenitive, attested from 1543 of medicines, 1620 of persons.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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