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mellifluous

[ muh-lif-loo-uhs ]
/ məˈlɪf lu əs /
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adjective

sweetly or smoothly flowing; sweet-sounding: a mellifluous voice; mellifluous tones.
flowing with honey; sweetened with or as if with honey.

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RELATED WORDS

agreeable, dulcet, fluid, honeyed, mellow, pleasing, resonant, soothing, tuneful, euphonic, harmonic, symphonious, mellifluent, songful, tuned

Nearby words

  1. mellaril,
  2. meller,
  3. mellers,
  4. melliferous,
  5. mellifluent,
  6. melliphagous,
  7. mellite,
  8. mellitum,
  9. mellon,
  10. mellon, andrew william

Origin of mellifluous

1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin mellifluus, equivalent to Latin melli- (stem of mel) honey + -flu(ere) to flow + -us adj. suffix (see -ous)
Related formsmel·lif·lu·ous·ly, adverbmel·lif·lu·ous·ness, nounun·mel·lif·lu·ous, adjectiveun·mel·lif·lu·ous·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mellifluous

British Dictionary definitions for mellifluous

mellifluous

mellifluent

/ (mɪˈlɪflʊəs) /

adjective

(of sounds or utterances) smooth or honeyed; sweet
Derived Formsmellifluously or mellifluently, adverbmellifluousness or mellifluence, noun

Word Origin for mellifluous

C15: from Late Latin mellifluus flowing with honey, from Latin mel honey + fluere to flow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mellifluous

mellifluous

adj.

early 15c., "sweet, pleasing" (of an odor, a style of speaking or writing, etc.), from Late Latin mellifluus "flowing with (or as if with) honey," from Latin mel (genitive mellis) "honey" (related to Greek meli "honey;" see Melissa) + -fluus "flowing," from fluere "to flow" (see fluent). Related: Melifluously; melifluousness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper