A rare or archaic term meaning to reduce or diminish the severity of something; to make less bitter or harsh.
From Latin de- (to reduce) and mitis (soft, mild), with the -ate suffix creating a verb form. This is an obsolete or very rare term no longer in common use.
This word is so old and unused that most modern dictionaries don't even list it—it's like a linguistic fossil that shows how English used to have more Latin-based verb formations for subtle shades of meaning.
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