me 11 
mell 3 (mel), r. I. [Avar, of ///!, ,-. J 
or bruise with or ax with ami 
maul. [Scotch.] 
mell' (mel), H. An obsolete or dialectal vari- 
ant of mill 1 . Cliinicer. 
mell 5 (mel), H. [A viir. of ini'/iP, mo/el.] A 
Main in linen. lliilliinll. [North. Eng.] 
mell" (m^O. n. [Origin obscure.] Awarming- 
|i:m. Ilii/lnri II. [Prov. Eng.] 
inellan (mel'an), n. Iii iKamonil-iitiiiiinj, same 
3090 
mellow 
in"// 1 , i'.] To pound Flowing or dropping like honey; hence, nweet- 
'II or mallet; crush; ly or smoothly flowing, especially in Round. 
melllte. It h;t a vmr, Mttcr taste, in very soluble In water 
iintl nlKu in ulctiluil, mid ciyntallizes In colorless needle*. 
Mellitophili, mellitophiline. ",- M> / i<-pkili, 
mi liln/iliilnii . 
'Uiilan, f. I.., r. 429. mellitous (rae-li'tun),. [< L. mellitua, honeyed: 
The marvellous teaching* of Socrates, as they come 8ee mcllitcl.] Mixed with honey. 
mellituria, mellituric. Erroneous forms of 
mi /i/iii'iW. ii" hliirii: 
Krom off the lioughs each mom 
We brush meUifluota dews. 
mended by the mellifluous words of Plato. 
Summer, Orations, I. 143. 
luous manner; with sweetly flowing sound. 
When amatory poets sing their loves 
In liquid lines mettijluotaly bland. Byron. 
mellifyt (mel'i-fi), r. i. [ME. mellifien, < OF. 
inillilwr = Sp. meUficar = Pg. meUificar, < L. 
millijicart, make honey, < mel (mell-), honey, 
+ faccrc, make.] To make honey. 
Place apte Is there swet herbes mnltlplle, 
And bees the welles haunte and water cleche : 
Ctilltee Is ther U> mellific. 
Palladiui, Husbondrie (E. E. T. 8.), p. 145. 
nielligo (me-li'go), n. [L., a honey-like juice, 
< mel (mell-), honey.] Honeydew. 
mellilite, n. See melilite. 
melleoust (mel'e-us), . [= F. mielloa, < L. melUlOQUent (me-lil'o-kwent) a. [< L. mel 
mellem, of or belonging to honey, < mel (mell-), ttM'V^ouey^loqutnlt-fowT.othqut^veak.] 
honey: see e// 2 .] 1. Having the character 
of honey; similar to honey. 
Which of the slow ways may be best employed to free 
wax from the yellow melfeoun parts. Boyle, Works, V. 712. 
2. In bot., having the taste or smell of honey, 
melley (mel'i), n. [Also melly, and archaically 
mclltty; < OF. melee (F. melee), earlier mcslrr, Meilinus(me-li'uus), w. [NL. (Fabricius, 1793), 
etc., a mixture, medley, ^contest: see medley, appar. < L. mel (mell-), honey: see mU2.] The 
typical genus of Mellinidie. ' 
and 3 North American species. 
mellifluously (me-lif'lij-us-li), nrfi'. In a mcllif- Mellivora (me-liv'o-rft), H. [NL., < L. mcl 
. 
raella rosa, . See mclii-rosa. 
mellav, . See mclley. 
mell-doll (mel'dol), n. An imageof corn, dress- 
ed like a doll, carried in triumph amid much 
rejoicing on the last day of reaping; a kern- 
baby. lii-ockett. [Prov. Eng.] 
mellet, An obsolete form of merle 1 . Halli- 
in It. 
melledt (meld), . [<MeiP + -Mi*.] Honeyed; 
miiiglod with honey. 
\\hlch sugred mel or melted sugar yield. 
r, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, 11, The Lawe. 
(mell-), honey, + vorare, devour.] 1. The typi- 
cal and only genus of .Mcllirorina; founded by 
Storr in 1780. There are two species, the In- 
dian and the African honey-badger or rat el, J/. 
inilira and M. capeiisin. 2. A genus of hyme- 
nopterous insects, ffegtiroiid. 
Mellivorinae (me-liv-o-ri'ne), n. ;/. [Also lit- 
In-tiriiKr; NL., < Mi -Ilivmra + -/.] A subfamily 
of Mii.itiliilir. having but one true molar on each 
side of each jaw, and the lower molar secto- 
rial ; the ratels or honey-badgers. There is but 
one genus, MeUivora, of Asia and Africa. See 
ratel. 
mellivorous (me-liv'o-rus), . [Also, errone- 
ously, melivoromi; < L. mel (mell-), honey, + 
vorare, devour.] Eating honey; subsisting on 
honey, as many insects, both In the perfect 
state and as larvae. 
An obsolete form of melon*. 
uu., a nixiure, meuiey, ci 
Cf. mftte, a mod. F. form.] Same as mflcc. 
Qawan, that sate bl the queue, 
To the l;yng he can enclyne, 
" I be-seche now with sajes sene, 
This inelly mot be myne. 
Sir Qawayne and the Green Kniijht (E. E. T. S.), 1. 842. 
Here and everywhere 
He rode the meliay, lord of the ringing lists. 
Tennyson, Princess, v. 
mellic (mel'ik), a. 
taining to honey. 
melliet (mel'i), n. [< L. mcl (mell-), honey: see 
we// 2 . The term is appar. arbitrary, and not 
conformed to Gr. ulfa, honey.] Honey. 
[< melft + -ic.] Of or per- 
It contains 2 European 
M. arveneu, a common 
digger-wasp of Europe, burrows in sand, and stores Its 
tubes with tiles upon which Its larva: feed. 
Melliphaga, melliphagan, etc. Erroneous 
forms otjleliiihaya, etc. 
mellisonantt (me-lis'o-nant), a. [< L. mel 
(mell-), honey, + sondn(t-)s, ppr. of sonare, 
sound: see sonant.'] Sweet-sounding. [Rare.] 
Mop. Bel wether of knighthood, you shall bind me to you. 
lo. lie have 't no more a sheep-bell ; I am knight 
Of the mellitonant tlngletangle 
Randolph, Amyntas (1640). (Narei.) 
Mellisuga (mel-i-su'gS), . [NL., < L. mel 
(mell-), noney, + suyere, suck.] A genus of 
For from thy makings milk and inMie flows. . _ .. 
Dames, Eclogue, 1. 20. (Davie*.) humming-birds of the family Trochilitla; giving 
name to a subfamily Mellisuginw. it contains the 
smallest of its tribe and the very least of all birds, such as 
M. minima of the West Indies, which Is scarcely 2 inches 
long, the upper parts showing golden-green, the wings and 
tail dusky-purplish. Also, erroneously, Mcluuya. 
Mellifera (me-lif'e-ra), . pi. [NL., neut. pi. 
of L. mellifer, honey-bearing: see melliferous.] 
In Latreille's system, the fourth family of acu- 
leate Symcnoptera; the Aiitltopliila; the honey- 
bees. It corresponded to the Llnnean genus Apis, and MellisUgSB (mel-i-su' je), n. Jit. [NL., pi. of 
wa8dlvidedbyLatreilleinto^ii<frpiiftoand^p<ona!,equlv- Mellisuga.'] Inornitli.: (a) In Merrem's classi- 
alent to the modern families Amtrenidce ami Apidce. 
Qcation (1813). a group of sundry tenuirostral 
ducing honey, as a plant; mellilie. 
And [Canaan] being mountainous, could not but abound 
with metti/crmu plants of the best kind. 
N. drew, Cosmo 
2. Bearing or preparing liouey, as a bee; spe- 
cifically, of or pertaining to the Mellifera. 
mellific (me-lirik), a. [= Sp. melijico = Pg. 
'Ufteus, honey-making < mel Mellisugina7mel'T-8a-ji'ne')7 .'/</. 
mellijico, < L. melUJicus 
(mell-), honey, + facere, mate.] 
produciiiK honey; honey-making. 
melllfication (mel'i-fi-ka'shon), H. 
Making or 
lification, < L. as if "utellificatio(n-), < mclliAcare, 
pp. mellificatus, make honey: see mellify.j The 
making or production of honey ; honey-making. 
In judging of the air, many things besides the weather 
ought to be observed : in some countries, the silence of 
grasshoppers, and the nullification of bees. Arbuthnot. 
mellifluence (rae-lif '1^-ens), n. [= OF. melliflu- 
ence; as mcllifliien(t) + -ce.~] A flow of sweet- 
ness; a smooth, honeyed flow. 
He [Wotton] was rather struck with the pastoral met- 
lijluence of its lyric measures, which he styles a certain 
Doric delicacy in the songs and odes. 
T. Wartm, Pref. to Milton's Smaller Poems. 
mellifluent (me-lif Ip-ent), a. [= OF. 
tint, < L. iin!l/jliien(t-)s, flowing with 
mcl (mell-), honey, + fluen(t-)s. ppr. ol 
flow: MeJWMit] Flowing like honey; smooth- 
ly or sweetly flowing. 
Cresset's clear pipe . . . combines In one 
Each former bard's mellijtnent tone. 
.wee.*, containing only the genus Mellinus, hav- mellone (mel'on), w. [< L. mel (mell-), honey, 
ing the abdomen petiolate, and the submar- + -one.'] A compound of carbon and n itrogen 
jti i in I cell of the fore wings receiving a recurrent the exact composition of which is not certainly 
known, obtained by heating certain thiocya"- 
nates strongly. It is a yellow insoluble powder, 
mellow (mel'6), a. [Early mod. E. melon; < ME. 
melue, soft, perhaps a var. of merwe,< AS. mearu 
(mearw-), soft, tender(see marroir 3 ), the change 
of r to I being perhaps assisted by association 
with the ult. related D. molliy = Fries, miolliji, 
soft, = G. dial, molliij. also moll, soft, molicli, 
mellow, prob. akin to L. mollix, soft: see mo// 2 . 
mollify, etc.] 1. Soft, especially from ripe- 
ness ; easily yielding to pressure : as, a melloir 
peach. 
Your chekes embolned like a mellow costard. 
Ballad ascribed to Chaucer. 
The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mi/tar, 
Drops in a silent autumn night 
Tennyson, Lotos- Eaters, Chorlc Song. 
Young cattle . . . are at 18 months old already of great 
size, with open horns, tnellow hide, etc. Encyc. Brit., f. 390. 
2. Soft and friable, as earth; loamy. 
Camomile sheweth mettow grounds fit for wheat 
Bacon 
In the North of England, when the earth turns up 
with a mellow and crumbly appearance, and smoaks, the 
farmers say the earth is brimming. 
A. Hunter, Georgical Essays, I. 157. 
3. Soft, rich, or delicate to the touch, eye, ear, 
palate, etc., as color, sound, flavor, and the like. 
The mellow bulnnch answers from the grove. 
Thmnton, Spring, 1. 80f>. 
A mettow voice Fltr- Eustace had, 
The air he chose was wild and sad. 
Scott, Marmlon, 111. . 
The melloicrr tints of the sinking sun. 
Geikie, GeoL Sketches, II. IB. 
4. Having the character or appearance of ma- 
turity; showing ripeness; of ripe age or qual- 
ity; perfected; matured. 
Season of mists and mettov fraitf ulness ! 
Keatt, To Autumn. 
Matthew Arnold has the dignity of form of his classic 
models, Longfellow the graceful facility of a mellow liter- 
ary culture. Enryc. Brit., V. 439. 
Quebec Is the mcllmcat nook of this raw continent 
Harper'i Mag., ULXVI. 366. 
5. Softened or matured by length of years: 
toned down by the lapse of time ; kindly dis- 
posed; good-humored; genial; jovial. 
As merry and mettow an old bachelor as ever followed a 
hound. Irring. 
6. Rendered good-humored or genial by liquor ; 
somewhat under the influence of liquor; naif- 
tipsy. 
" Here, Hermes," says Jove, who with nectar was metlcnc. 
Garrict, Epitaph on Goldsmith. 
7. Of sounds, soft and rich; characterized by 
many and well-balanced overtones. The quality 
Is well illustrated by most of the tones of an orchestral 
family Trochilidce, considered as a conort of 
AiiinodacttjU of an order f'olueres. Also called 
LonailiiiQues. 
S. 0n. tosmologla Sacra, Iv. 2. ^^^ (mel-i-su'jent), a. [Also meli*,,- 
i/eiit; < L. mel (mell-), honey, + sugen(t-)s. ppr. 
of siii/ere, suck: see sucl:] Honey-sucking: 
said of various birds and insects. 
[NL., < 
Mcllimiya + -iiue.J A subfamily of humming- 
birds named from the genus Mellisuga. 
SJ!I* mellit (merit), H. [< F. mellite, an electuary 
of honey, < Li. mellitw, honeyed, sweetened 
with honey: see mellite 1 .'] In farriery, a dry 
scab on the heel of a horse's foot, cured by a 
mixture of honey and vinegar. Imp. Diet. 
Mellita (me-li'ta), . [NL., < L. mellita, fern, 
of mellitus, honeyed, sweetened with honey 
(placenta mellita, a honey-cake) : see mellite^.'] 
A genus of clypeastroid sea-urchins of the 
family Scutelliaa: The common sand-dollar or cake- 
urchin of the Atlantic coast of the I nil nl States, whose 
dried test presents five slits, is M. yuinquefoTa. See cut 
untlt-r cake-urchin. 
mellitate (mel'i-tat), n. [< L. mel (mell-), hon- 
ey, + -rttel.] A salt of mellitic acid. 
mellite 1 1, a. [ME., < L. mellitus, honeyed. < mel 
(null-), honey: see melP. Cf. mellit.'] Mixed 
with honey; sweetened. 
Wyne mellite, as salde Is. save hem shall. 
Palladiui, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 58. 
mellite 2 (mel'it), . 
Cooper, Apo'logy of Arlstippus, Ep. :t. + -i'<c 2 .] A rare mineral, first observed in the 
mellifluently (me-lif'l$-eut-li), ,,,li: Mrlliflu- beds of brown-coal in Thuringia. It occurs in te- 
OUH 1 V tragonal crystals and nodular masses of a honey-yellow 
.ii:a / i-Mi- \ r r\ rnlor; It is a mcllitate of aluminium. Also called honev- 
melllfluOUS (me-lif ly-us), a. [= OF. mellifleujc, #ane. 
also iii'llijlii. mi ll< Jin. F. mi'llijlin = Sp. mi-Ujln.i mellitic (me-lit'ik),. [< mellite^ + -ic.] Per- 
= Pg. It. HIC/////II", < LL. nifllitliiH.t. tlowiiii; with taining to or derived from mellite or honey- 
honey, < L. mcl (MOit-), lionev, +.i/- ir. flow.] stone.- MeUltlc add, ('(('( >..ll ). the peculiar add of 
honi when well played. 
[< L^mel (mell-), honey, mellow (mel'6), r. [< mellou:, a.] I. trans. I. 
To ripen ; bring to maturity ; soften by ripeness 
or age ; give richness, flavor, or delicacy to. 
My riper mrllmced yeeres beginne to follow on as fast 
Gatcoiyne, Gloze upon a Text 
The Syrian and the Slgnlan Pear. 
Hettoto'd by Winter from their cruder Juice, 
Light of Digestion now. 
Cangme, tr. of Juvenal's Satire*, xL 
