mellow
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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 Saterland Frisian muur (“tender”), West Frisian murf (“tender”), Dutch murw (“tender”), German Low German möör (“tender”), German mürbe (“tender, soft”), Old Norse mör (“tender; aching”), Icelandic meyr (“tender”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɛləʊ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɛloʊ/
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -ɛləʊ
Adjective[edit]
mellow (comparative mellower or more mellow, superlative mellowest or most mellow)
- Soft or tender by reason of ripeness; having a tender pulp.
- a mellow apple
- Easily worked or penetrated; not hard or rigid.
- a mellow soil
- 1612, Michael Drayton, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes; I. Browne; I. Helme; I. Busbie, published 1613, OCLC 1049089293:
- flowers of rank and mellow glebe
- Not coarse, rough, or harsh; subdued, soft, rich, delicate; said of sound, color, flavor, style, etc.
- 1820, William Wordsworth, The Valley of Dover
- the mellow horn
- 1730, James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, OCLC 642619686, lines 701–704, page 139:
- The claret ſmooth, red as the lip we preſs / In ſparkling fancy, while we drain the bowl; / The mellow-taſted Burgundy; and quick, / As is the wit it gives, the gay champaign.
- 1821, James Gates Percival, Prometheus
- The tender flush whose mellow stain imbues / Heaven with all freaks of light.
- 1820, William Wordsworth, The Valley of Dover
- Well matured; softened by years; genial; jovial.
- December 11, 1834, William Wordsworth, to Samuel Rogers Esq
- May health return to mellow age.
- 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], OCLC 864083:
- as merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound
- December 11, 1834, William Wordsworth, to Samuel Rogers Esq
- Relaxed; calm; easygoing; laid-back.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess[1]:
- Here the stripped panelling was warmly gold and the pictures, mostly of the English school, were mellow and gentle in the afternoon light.
- Warmed by liquor, slightly intoxicated, stoned, or high.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)
Synonyms[edit]
- (tender): See Thesaurus:soft
- (not hard): yielding; See also Thesaurus:soft
- (not harsh): merry
- (genial): convivial, gay, genial, jovial
- (relaxed): easy-breezy, casual
- (slightly intoxicated): See Thesaurus:drunk or Thesaurus:stoned
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
Soft or tender by reason of ripeness; having a tender pulp
relaxed
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.
Derived terms[edit]
Verb[edit]
mellow (third-person singular simple present mellows, present participle mellowing, simple past and past participle mellowed)
- (transitive) To make mellow; to relax or soften.
- The fervour of early feeling is tempered and mellowed by the ripeness of age.
- a. 1701, John Dryden, “Epistle the Fourteenth. To Sir Godfrey Kneller, Principal Painter to His Majesty.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume II, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003, page 201:
- For time ſhall with his ready pencil ſtand; / Retouch your figures with his ripening hand; / Mellow your colors, and imbrown the teint; / Add every grace, which time alone can grant; / To future ages ſhall your fame convey, / And give more beauties than he takes away.
- (intransitive) To become mellow.
- 1592-94, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act IV Scene 4
- So now prosperity begins to mellow
And drop into the rotten mouth of death.
- So now prosperity begins to mellow
- 1592-94, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act IV Scene 4
Derived terms[edit]
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