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Webster 1913 Edition

Lenient

Le′ni-ent

(lē′nĭ-ent or lēn′yent)
,
Adj.
[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.
O[GREEK][GREEK] 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.

Le′ni-ent

,
Noun.
(Med.)
A lenitive; an emollient.

Webster 1828 Edition

Lenient

LE'NIENT

,
Adj.
[L. leniens, from lenio, lenis, soft, mild.
1.
Softening; mitigating; assuasive.
Time, that on all things lays his lenient hand, yet tames not this.
Sometimes with of; as lenient of grief.
2.
Laxative; emollient.
Oils relax the fibers, are lenient, balsamic.

LE'NIENT

,
Noun.
That which softens or assuages; an emollient.

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