milse

M3I1L1S1E1

verb

To be merciful to; show clemency to; pardon.

OriginMiddle English milsen ← Old English miltsian ← Proto-Germanic *mildisjō →
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Meanings

verbmilse (third-person singular simple present milses, present participle milsing, simple past and past participle milsed)

present singular third person milses · participle present milsing · participle past milsed · past milsed

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo be merciful to; show clemency to; pardon.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)mel-“to beat, grind”
  2. Proto-Germanic*mildijaz“mild”
  3. Proto-Germanic*mildisjō“kindness”
  4. Old Englishmiltsian“to compassionate, pity, show mercy, soften, make merciful”
  5. Middle Englishmilsen
  6. Englishmilse

From Middle English milsen, milcen, milcien, from Old English miltsian (“to compassionate, pity, show mercy, soften, make merciful”), from Proto-Germanic *mildisjō (“kindness”), from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz (“mild”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“to beat, grind”). Related to Old English milts (“mercy, compassion, benevolence, kindness, favor, joy”), Old English milde (“mild, merciful, kind, generous, gentle, meek”). More at mild.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

milessmileslimelimesSelimmisle
Cite this entry
APA

milse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/milse

MLA

“milse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/milse. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “milse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/milse.

Source: milse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.