mellifluous
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /məˈlɪflu.əs/
ipa: /mɛˈlɪflu.əs/
Forms: form: more mellifluous
form: most mellifluous
Etymology: From Latin mellifluus (“flowing like honey”), from mel (“honey”) + fluō (“flow”). Compare superfluous and fluid, from same root, and with dulcet (“sweet speech”), alternative Latinate term with a similar meaning.
Senses: examples: text: Though in heaven the trees / Of life ambrosial fruitage bear, and vines / Yield nectar; though from off the boughs each morn / VVe brush mellifluous devvs, and find the ground / Cover'd vvith pearly grain[…]
ref: 1671, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:
glosses: Flowing like honey.
examples: text: […] Socrates […] VVisest of men; from vvhose mouth issued forth / Mellifluous streams that vvater'd all the schools / Of Academicks old and nevv […]
ref: 1671, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:
text: Join'd to Theſe [birds], / Thouſands beſide, thick as the covering Leaves / VVhich ſpeck them o'er, their Modulations mix / Mellifluous.
ref: 1728, [James] Thomson, Spring. A Poem, […] A[ndrew] Millar, […]; and G[eorge] Strahan, […], →OCLC, pages 30–31:
text: No verses can be more mellifluous than Petrarch's: something of this will perhaps be attributed to the softness of the Italian language; but the English tongue is also capable of it, however obstinately Johnson may have pronounced otherwise.
ref: 1853, Sir Egerton Brydges, Life of Milton:
text: The only novels with which the weary Titan refreshes his mind are those of Thackeray, sometimes of Trollope; the more frivolous sometimes go so far as to sip a little of the honey that falls from the mellifluous lips of Mr A. C. Benson.
ref: 1918, Walter Lionel George, A Novelist on Novels:
text: Certainly, he [Richard Ashcroft] returns explicitly to the sound of Urban Hymns on his fourth solo album: neat, sad strings, unhurried percussion and his mellifluous foghorn of a voice.
ref: 2016 May 19, Rachel Aroesti, “Richard Ashcroft: These People review”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
text: His [Roy Orbison's] iconic look, mellifluous croon and timeless songwriting means that he retains a strong fanbase.
ref: 2017 October 20, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, “In dreams: Roy Orbison hologram to embark on UK tour in 2018”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
text: Radio proved a perfect fit for the mellifluous tones of Mr. Pence, who called himself “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.”
ref: 2022 July 12, Simon Montlake, “In Jan. 6 spotlight, Mike Pence navigates a tricky post-Trump path”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
synonyms: birdsweet
dulcet
euphonious
mellifluent
glosses: Sweet, smooth and musical; pleasant to hear (generally used of a person's voice, tone or writing style).
Derived terms: mellifluously
mellifluousness
unmellifluous
Related terms: melliloquent
superfluous