n.
'mercy'
(Modern English )Formally this word could derive from OE, but it does not continue an attested n. An adj. *ƀlīþ(j)a- is well attested in Gmc (cp. Go bleiþs 'kind, merciful', Old English blīðe 'joyous, cheerful, pleasant', OS blīthi 'joyful, happy, OHG blīdi 'merry, glad', ON blíðr 'gentle, mild') and possibly derives from the verbal stem *blī- 'to shine' (thus OED; cp. OS blīthi 'shining, light'). The related n., however, only occurs as Go bleiþei 'benevolence, mercy' and ON blíða 'gentleness, kindness, friendliness'. McGee (360) points out that the sense of the Go and ON, in contrast to the OE, refer to 'manifestation of sympathy or grace towards others' as opposed to internal feelings, although he notes a potential similar usage of the OE adj. in Elene. Thus commentators have either simply derived the ME n. from ON (Goll and EVG), read it as a usage of the adj. (Osgood) or maintained both possibilities (MED, perhaps OED by implication).
PGmc Ancestor
*ƀlīþ-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
blíða 'gentleness, kindness, friendliness'
(ONP blíða (2) (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
OE Cognate
cp. blīðe (adj.) 'joyous, cheerful, pleasant'
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
CC1c
(CC3c)
The n. blyþe only occurs in ME, where it occurs in only a handful of N texts from the 15c. and 16c., and in this sense (MED's sense (b)), only otherwise in DT.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Pe 354