mellow
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English melowe, melwe (“soft, sweet, juicy”), variant of Middle English merow, merwe (“soft, tender”), from Old English meru, mearu (“tender, soft, callow, delicate, frail”), from Proto-Germanic *marwaz (“mellow”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer(w)- (“to rub, pack”). Cognate with Middle Dutch meru (“tender”), German mürbe (“tender, soft”), Old Norse meyrr (“tender”) (whence Icelandic meyr (“tender”)).
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
mellow (comparative mellower or more mellow, superlative mellowest or most mellow)
- Soft or tender by reason of ripeness; having a tender pulp; as, a mellow apple.
- Easily worked or penetrated; not hard or rigid; as, a mellow soil.
- Not coarse, rough, or harsh; subdued, soft, rich, delicate; -- said of sound, color, flavor, style, etc.
- Well matured; softened by years; genial; jovial.
- Relaxed; calm; easygoing; laid-back.
- Warmed by liquor, slightly intoxicated; or, stoned, high.
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
Soft or tender by reason of ripeness; having a tender pulp
Noun [edit]
mellow (plural mellows)
- A relaxed mood.
- 1997, Neil A. Hamilton, The ABC-CLIO companion to the 1960s counterculture in America, page 258:
- Yet, conversely, some people searched for the mellow ... Hope for flower power had faded, though the journey into the mellow did not
- 1999, Kurt Andersen, Turn of the century, page 508:
- On their third date, Lizzie had actually said to him, "You're sort of harshing my mellow." It made him wonder if she might be stupid, and not just young.
- 1997, Neil A. Hamilton, The ABC-CLIO companion to the 1960s counterculture in America, page 258:
Verb [edit]
mellow (third-person singular simple present mellows, present participle mellowing, simple past and past participle mellowed)
- (intransitive) To become mellow.
- (intransitive) To relax or soften.
