the.com/leniency
Mercy with paperwork — punishment's weaker, more negotiable cousin.
means The quality of being gentler than the rules technically allow — letting someone off lighter than they expected.
from From Latin 'lenis,' meaning soft or mild — the same root that gives English 'lenient.' The word traveled through French into English around the 1600s, carrying that core sense of softness: not a legal term originally, just gentleness applied to how harshly you choose to judge someone.
- legal use
- judges weigh remorse before deciding leniency
- etymology
- from latin lenis, meaning soft or gentle
- psychology
- often extended more to likable than guilty people
- risk
- too much breeds repeat offenders, not gratitude