Word: mellow Part of Speech: verb 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”) Pronunciation: /ˈmɛləʊ/, /ˈmɛloʊ/ 1. To cause (fruit) to become soft or tender, specifically by ripening. Labels: US, informal, transitive Example: Then Olives, ground in Mills, their fatneſs boaſt, / And Winter Fruits are mellow'd by the Froſt. Example: As time improves the grape's authentic juice, / Mellows and makes the ſpeech more fit for uſe, / And claims a rev'rence in its ſhort'ning day, / That 'tis an honour and a joy to pay. 2. To cause (food or drink, for example, cheese or wine, or its flavour) to become matured and smooth, and not acidic, harsh, or sharp. Labels: US, informal, transitive 3. To soften (land or soil) and make it suitable for planting in. Labels: US, informal, regional, transitive Example: This City is built of white Sun-burnt brickes, is watered with a ſmall ſtreame, which runs in two parts through the Towne, and meloes moſt of the Gardens and Groues within her, whereby ſhee yeelds a thankfull tribute of ſundry fruits. Example: Having therefore made choice of ſome fit place of Ground, […] let it be Broken up the Winter before you ſow, to mellow it, eſpecially if it be a Clay, and then the furrow would be made deeper; […] 4. To reduce or remove the harshness or roughness from (something); to soften, to subdue, to tone down. Labels: US, figuratively, informal, transitive Example: VVas thought-exceeding glorification, ſuch a cloyance and cumber vnto me, that I muſt leaue it: as Archeſilaus ouer-melodied, and too-much melovved & ſugred with ſvveet tunes, turned them aſide, and cauſed his ears to be nevv reliſhed vvith harſh ſovver and vnſauory ſounds? Example: The page was eaſily mellowd with his attractive eloquence, as what heart of adamant, or encloſed in a crocodyles ſkin (which no yron will pierce) that hath the power to withſtand the Mercurian heavenly charme of hys rhetorique? 5. To cause (a person) to become calmer, gentler, and more understanding, particularly from age or experience. Labels: US, figuratively, informal, transitive Example: The fervour of early feeling is tempered and mellowed by the ripeness of age. 6. To cause (a person) to become slightly or pleasantly drunk or intoxicated. Labels: US, figuratively, informal, transitive Example: In the course of the day [Manuel] Lisa undertook to tamper with the faith of Pierre Dorion [Jr.], and, inviting him on board of his boat, regaled him with his favorite whiskey. When he thought him sufficiently mellowed, he proposed to him to quit the service of his new employers and return to his old allegiance. Example: He found the bailiff riding by the farm, / And, talking from the point, he drew him in, / And there he mellow'd all his heart with ale, / Until they closed a bargain, hand in hand. 7. Followed by out: to relax (a person); in particular, to cause (a person) to become pleasantly high or stoned by taking drugs. Labels: US, also, figuratively, informal, reflexive, transitive 8. To mature and lose its harshness or sharpness. Labels: US, informal, intransitive 9. To be rendered soft and suitable for planting in. Labels: US, informal, intransitive, regional 10. To lose harshness; to become gentler, subdued, or toned down. Labels: US, figuratively, informal, intransitive Example: So now proſperitie begins to mellow / And drop into the rotten mouth of Death: […] Example: [T]ill death us lay / To ripe and mellow, here we're stubborn clay. 11. To relax; in particular, to become pleasantly high or stoned by taking drugs. Labels: US, figuratively, informal, intransitive