mull1
- to study or ruminate; ponder.
- to think about carefully; consider (often followed by over): to mull over an idea.
- to make a mess or failure of.
Origin of mull1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for mull on Thesaurus.commull2
- to heat, sweeten, and flavor with spices for drinking, as ale or wine.
Origin of mull2
mull4
- to mix (clay and sand) under a roller for use in preparing a mold.
Origin of mull4
Examples from the Web for mulling
Contemporary Examples
"My wife and I have been married for nineteen years," says Palmer, mulling the stress-fracture in his family life.
Saudi Arabia reportedly is mulling trade sanctions against the Netherlands over stickers that Wilders had printed up in December.
Herman, 54, is mulling my question about whether he has been sexually abused.
“Recently, I have started giving some thought to it,” says Korsh, who is currently mulling four different outcomes.
Mulling over these questions, going over our past should give us all sorts of answers to our future.
Historical Examples
The lookout broke in on his mulling over with a sudden shout.
A Man to His MateJ. Allan Dunn
Al fell back on an idea that he himself had been mulling over.
Double ChallengeJames Arthur Kjelgaard
He had an idea or two which he had been mulling over that concerned the artist.
Children of the WhirlwindLeroy Scott
Of evenings we can court and drink liquor of my own mulling.
Tales of the ChesapeakeGeorge Alfred Townsend
The best way of mulling claret is simply to heat it with a sufficient quantity of sugar and a stick of cinnamon.
Cups and their CustomsGeorge Edwin Roberts
Mull
- a mountainous island off the west coast of Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides, separated from the mainland by the Sound of Mull . Chief town: Tobermory. Pop: 2667 (2001). Area: 909 sq km (351 sq miles)
mull1
- (tr often foll by over) to study or ponder
Word Origin
mull2
- (tr) to heat (wine, ale, etc) with sugar and spices to make a hot drink
Word Origin
mull3
- a light muslin fabric of soft texture
Word Origin
mull4
- a layer of nonacidic humus formed in well drained and aerated soilsCompare mor
Word Origin
mull5
- Scot a promontory
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for mulling
mull
v.1
"ponder," 1873, perhaps from a figurative use of Middle English mullyn "grind to powder, pulverize," from molle "dust, ashes, rubbish" (c.1300), probably from Middle Dutch mul "grit, loose earth," related to mill (n.1). But Webster's (1879) defined it as "to work steadily without accomplishing much," which may connect it to earlier identical word in athletics sense of "to botch, muff" (1862). Related: Mulled; mulling.
mull
v.2
"sweeten, spice and heat a drink," c.1600, of unknown origin, perhaps from Dutch mol, a kind of white, sweet beer, or from Flemish molle a kind of beer, and related to words for "to soften." Related: Mulled; mulling.
mull
n.
"promontory" (in Scottish place names), late 14c., perhaps from Old Norse muli "a jutting crag, projecting ridge (between two valleys)," which probably is identical with muli "snout, muzzle." The Norse word is related to Old Frisian mula, Middle Dutch mule, muul, Old High German mula, German Maul "muzzle, mouth." Alternative etymology traces it to Gaelic maol "brow of a hill or rock," also "bald," from Old Celtic *mailo-s (cf. Irish maol, Old Irish máel, máil, Welsh moel).