mellow

Definition

Soft or tender by reason of ripeness; having a tender pulp.

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English melowe, melwe (“ripe, mellow; juicy; sweet”) [and other forms]; further etymology uncertain, possibly: * from an attributive use of melow, melowe, melewe, mele (“meal from ground grain or legumes; flour; kernel of barley or lentils”) [and other forms], from Old English melo, melu (“meal (edible part of a grain or pulse); flour”), from Proto-Germanic *melwą (“ground corn; meal; flour”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush; to grind”); or * a variant of Middle English merow, merowe, meruw (“soft, tender; of a person: frail; of love: unstable, variable”) [and other forms], from Old English meru, mearu (“soft, tender; delicate, frail; callow”) [and other forms], from Proto-Germanic *marwaz (“soft, mellow; brittle, delicate”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer(w)- (“to rub; to pack”). The noun and verb are both derived from the adjective. The etymology of noun sense 3 (“close friend; lover”) is unknown, but may also be derived from the adjective. Cognates * Dutch murw (“tender”) * German mürbe (“soft, tender”) * German Low German möör (“tender”) * Old Norse mör (“tender; aching”) (Icelandic meyr (“tender”)) * Saterland Frisian muur (“tender”) * West Frisian murf (“tender”)

Example Sentences

• "a mellow apple"
• "How can thoſe men call home the loſt ſheepe that are gone aſtray, comming into the Miniſtery before their wits be ſtaid. This greene fruite, béeing gathered before it be ripe, is rotten before it be mellow, and infected with Sciſmes before they haue learned to bridle their affections, […]"
• "Com[inius]. Hee'l ſhake your Rome about your eares. / Mene[nius]. As Hercules did ſhake downe Mellow Fruite: You haue made faire worke."