Mellow
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /ˈmɛləʊ/
- GenAm IPA: /ˈmɛloʊ/
- Rhymes: -ɛləʊ
Origin
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"), Swedish mör ("tender; aching"), Icelandic meyr ("tender").
Full definition of mellow
Adjective
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
- Draytonflowers of rank and mellow glebe
- Not coarse, rough, or harsh; subdued, soft, rich, delicate; said of sound, color, flavor, style, etc.
- Wordsworththe mellow horn
- Thomsonthe mellow-tasted Burgundy
- PercivalThe tender flush whose mellow stain imbues
Heaven with all freaks of light. - Well matured; softened by years; genial; jovial.
- WordsworthMay health return to mellow age.
- Washington Irvingas merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound
- Relaxed; calm; easygoing; laid-back.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 3, 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; or, stoned, high.
Derived terms
Noun
mellow
(plural mellows)- A relaxed mood.
- 1997, Neil A. Hamilton, The ABC-CLIO companion to the 1960s counterculture in America‎, 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, 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.