Please settle an argument between me and DP..... what does 'mild' mean?

[Limth]

You may be preventing a fucking divorce here, so please help by answering this question -

Question: If I said "It's milder today than it was yesterday", would you take that to mean:
A: Its warmer than it was yesterday
B: Its colder than yesterday

Very many thanks!

It could be either depending on the previous day. If it was 20° yesterday and 10 today then its milder. If it was 5 yesterday and 10 today then it's milder.

In the context of the calendar you're sort of correct but not concrete either way.

Ah, ok. So it's a larger nutshell now 😁

As a Linguist, with the MA to prove it, the only way to find out about a spoken language is to ask native speakers of that language. Which is what OP has done. There isn't always a clear cut answer.

But surely you have to take into account that if some people start using a word differently to how most others do and contrary to what extant dictionaries define it as then their usage doesn't carry the same weight? Otherwise you end up with incomprehensible Humptydumptyism.

If one thinks it always means colder and the other thinks it always means warmer then they're both wrong, neither is right.

(Unless we're now redefining what right and wrong mean too....)

Warmer

@ErrolTheDragon there are all sorts of approaches to this problem. Sociolinguistics, or the study of dialects, or pragmatics, you name it!
It keeps academic linguists in employment, and is interesting to do

Definitely A.

In the winter, I’d say it means slightly warmer. Ie. It’s slightly warmer than previous days.

In the summer, I think it means cooler! Ie. It’s not as hot as it has been.

BTW, you do know that God does not write dictionaries?
Someone collects the words first, and instances of written material that contains the words. Someone writes the definition. To back up the definition they have given, and show examples of the use of the word itself, they give instances of its occurrence from published written sources.

Added to which, one word can, of course, have many meanings

@Limth this thread has made me laugh so much-My DS(25) hates the word mild.

He is insistent that it doesn't mean anything as a stand alone word and it drives him crazy when I use it!!!

LTB. It means warmer

It means warmer. I have never heard it used (weather wise) in any other way. Even the weather men/women say, for example, "tomorrow will be pleasantly milder than today" meaning warmer, not colder. If it was colder they would say "tomorrow will be quite a bit chillier than today". The meaning is not optional any more than when you're describing a curry - it's either spicy or it's mild.

Depends on which season you're in? In the winter, I would say milder is warmer. In a hot summer milder is cooler. So milder meaning closer to a middling temperature.

Warmer !

Not it isn't. I've studied English to a high level and worked with it all my life. You're talking nonsense. It always means warmer. I have literally NEVER heard it being used to mean less hot.

I think the confusion may stem from the fact milder means warmer but if you say it is quite mild today you normally mean it is quite cool but just not cooler than before.

Warmer.

Not it isn't. I've studied English to a high level and worked with it all my life. You're talking nonsense. It always means warmer. I have literally NEVER heard it being used to mean less hot.

So if someone offered you the choice of a vindaloo or a milder curry, what would you expect?

Since milder means less severe or harsh, it actually means both. When it's very hot on Wednesday, but going to be less hot the next day, one can say, "tomorrow will be milder weather". If it's very cold on Wednesday and Thursday will be warmer, one can say, "Tomorrow will be milder." Ditto if talking about humidity.

It drives me crazy when it will be a perfect day and people use that term. In the US, in the area where I live, that would be approx. 72 degrees and 30% humidity. So, when someone says it will be "milder", I think, "Milder? It's perfect weather, so whether it will be hotter or cooler temperature and higher or lower humidity, it's far from milder. Any change makes it worse." Milder is a word to use when something is severe and getting "better".

Don't get a f'ing divorce, both are correct! Now kiss and make up!

Okay, I'll see myself out.

It drives me crazy when it will be a perfect day and people use that term. In the US, in the area where I live, that would be approx. 72 degrees and 30% humidity. So, when someone says it will be "milder", I think, "Milder? It's perfect weather, so whether it will be hotter or cooler temperature and higher or lower humidity, it's far from milder. Any change makes it worse." Milder is a word to use when something is severe and getting "better".

I'm in the US and I agree. 72 F and low humidity: that's mild in an absolute sense as far as I'm concerned. But we have had an unusually hot fall (autumn) so far. High 80s, high humidity. Everyone is saying "When will we get milder weather?" or variations thereof. They all mean cooler weather because those "perfect" mild day almost always happens in November or December.

I'll bite ...

Surely "next Saturday" means the next coming Saturday.
I always use "Saturday week" for the Saturday following the next Saturday.

as in "Its going to be a lot milder Saturday week"

This means "it will be cooler than now on the 2nd Saturday" from today. Or "it will be warmer than now on the 2nd Saturday". Its all relative to the temperature of "now".

A

@TheClitterati The linguistic topic of Deixis (means pointing words!) concerns itself with this, as well as many other things.

American English has slightly different syntax from British English, so it's quite possible the meaning is different there, and it does seem that context is relevant.

A warning to any smokers who might visit the US, BTW.
While there, do NOT announce to the assembled company: "I am going outside for a fag."

Then you've never watched the weather channel while in a hot place. "The weather will be milder today," means it will not be as much of a scorcher as yesterday was.