mellown.¹

Brit.

/ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S.

/ˈmɛloʊ/

Origin: Of uncertain origin.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps (see quot. 1925) originally shortened < melody n., but in written form confused with mellow adj.; or perhaps playfully < mellow adj., as though a shortening of melody n. Compare mellow adj. 7b.

U.S. slang.

A spiritual or devotional song; an improvised jazz vocal.

ΚΠ

1925 Amer. Mercury Dec. p. xvi (advt.) Negro spirituals are known throughout the South, but the ‘mellows’ and ‘make-up’ songs of the Louisiana Negro claim a distinctive place. ‘Mellow’ is the Negro word for melody, by which term their devotional songs are called.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §568 Mellows, spirituals or religious songs.

1958 P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz i. 21 There were sustained ‘mellows’—hollers in which a single idea or phrase might be repeated with numerous variations until the singer tired of it or thought of another.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mellown.²

Brit.

/ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S.

/ˈmɛloʊ/

Origin: Perhaps formed within English, by conversion.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps < mellow adj.

U.S. slang (originally and chiefly Black English).

A close friend; a lover. Also main mellow.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > close or intimate friend

belamy?c1225

friarc1290

specialc1300

necessaryc1384

familiar?c1400

great frienda1425

gossea1549

particular1577

shopfellow?1577

cockmate1578

privado1584

bosom friend1590

better half1596

ingle1602

inward1607

bully boy1609

bosom-piecea1625

hail-fellow1650

bosom-bird1655

intimate1660

crony1665

intimado1682

chum1684

friend of one's bosom1712

right bower1829

inquaintancea1834

cad1836

chummy1849

bond-friend1860

raggie1901

bosom1913

aceboy1951

boon coon1951

mellow1967

squeeze1980

acegirl2009

1967 C. L. Cooper Farm i. 97 Now, there's never been a day in my life when I couldn't go to 1 of my main mellows and get some help.

1972 D. Claerbaut Black Jargon in White Amer. 72 Mellow,..a loved one of the opposite sex: she's my mellow.

1976 in D. Wepman et al. Life 68 Tell my mellows I'll spring 'em.

1994 ‘Beastie Boys’ Do It in Ill Communication (CD lyrics booklet) 10 Adam Yauch grab the mic 'cause you know you're my mellow.

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mellown.³

Brit.

/ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S.

/ˈmɛloʊ/

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mellow adj.

Etymology: < mellow adj.

U.S. colloquial.

A state of relaxation or comfort; the state or quality of being mellow. to harsh one's mellow (slang), to ruin one's good or relaxed mood.

ΚΠ

1977 New West 29 Aug. 38 No one can know what mellow is who hasn't traveled these highways.

1978 G. B. Trudeau Doonesbury (comic strip) in Los Angeles Times 27 Aug. I read today that ‘Winning Through Mellow’ is already this season's numero uno self-help manual.

1986 Wittenburg Door Oct. 9/1 I am practicing mellow today.

1995 Denver Post 9 Mar. a1 Yo, all you snowboarders. Bad dudes out there want to harsh your mellow. Thefts of snowboards..have surged.

1999 San Francisco Chron. (Electronic ed.) 26 Jan. A native of Chicago,..J.B., 49, nonetheless became the personification of California mellow.

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mellowadj.

Brit.

/ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S.

/ˈmɛloʊ/

Forms: late Middle English melwe, late Middle English–1500s melowe, late Middle English–1600s melow, 1500s millow, 1500s–1600s mellowe, 1500s– mellow; English regional 1800s mulla, 1800s– mallow, 1800s– mella, 1800s– mellah, 1800s– meller, 1800s– mellow; also (in mellow bug n. at Compounds 2) U.S. regional 1900s– mallow, 1900s– meller.

Origin: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: meal n.¹; merrow adj.

Etymology: Origin uncertain. Perhaps < an unrecorded attributive use of meal n.¹ (compare Middle English forms melow , melowe s.v., and the Old English inflected stem melw- ), or perhaps originally a variant of merrow adj., by dissimilation and by association with melch adj.Compare Dutch regional (West Flanders) meluw soft, tender, ripe (of uncertain origin, but perhaps ultimately related to meel meal n.¹). Compare mellowy adj., also first attested in mid 15th cent.

I. Senses relating to the ripeness or softness of things.

a. Of fruit: ripe; soft, sweet, and juicy with ripeness. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > [adjective] > qualities of fruit

mellow1440

mellowy?1440

chokely1578

gross1578

choky1597

racy1651

mealy1673

squashy1698

rusty-coat1782

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 332 Melwe, or rype, maturus.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. JJiiii Thynke howe god may make of that grene apple, a swete frute full melowe.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 318/2 Melowe as fruyte is, meur.

1589 T. Nashe Anat. Absurditie sig. Dii^v This greene fruite, beeing gathered before it be ripe, is rotten before it be mellow.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Paré Pomme parée, ripened in straw, &c.; made mellow by art.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. vi. 104 As Hercules did shake downe Mellow Fruite.

1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Melow, ripe.

1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar iii. iii. 42 Nature drops him down, without your Sin, Like mellow Fruit, without a Winter Storm.

1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth I. 266 Women like some other Fruit, Loose their relish when too Mellow.

1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick 37 Take a Mellow Apple,..take out the Core.

a1832 W. Scott Lord of Isles (1834) iii. xxi. 117 Mellow nuts have hardest rind.

1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch IV. Finale 361 The youngest of the three..showed a marvellous nicety of aim in playing at marbles, or in throwing stones to bring down the mellow pears.

1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters i. i Each of 'em..as sleek and as round-about as a mellow codlin.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 839/2 The greater writers had..already done their characteristic work, and though the survivors continued to produce.., their works contained no new element and were at most mellow fruits of age.

1996 T. R. Chester Provisions of Light 35 Rosy apple, mellow pear, Bunch of roses she shall wear.

†b. Of colour, odour, or flavour: indicative of ripeness. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by age or cycles > [adjective] > ripe or ripened > of colour, odour, etc.

mellow1563

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes sig. Yyy.i^v So doth the crabbe, and choke pere, seme outwardelye to haue sometyme as fayre a redde, and as melow a colour, as the fruite which is good in deede.

1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. i. 2 My eye telleth me it [sc. an apple] is greene or red: my nose that it hath a mellow sent.

c. Chiefly poetic. Of seeds, leaves, etc.; having reached the end of a process of growth or maturation; mature. Of crops or grain: ripe, ready for harvesting.

ΚΠ

1595 tr. G. de S. Du Bartas First Day of Worldes Creation 27 The night makes mellow seeds sprout in the furrowes.

1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale (Douce 170) (1888) i. vi. 74 Till Ceres ripened had her mellowe graine.

1650 R. Baron Pocula Castalia 32 From Trees the mellow leaves in Autume glide.

1792 W. Cowper Needless Alarm in Speaker (new ed.) ii. xxiv. 70 Nor Autumn yet had brush'd from every spray. With her chill hand, the mellow leaves away.

1863 T. Woolner My Beautiful Lady i. 59 And lolls a weary wretch forlorn, While men reap the mellow corn.

1893 J. B. L. Warren Poems, Dramatic & Lyrical 127 Dispose thy loves in realms of mellow flowers.

d. Of a foodstuff or beverage, or its flavour: well-matured; mild and smooth; free from acidity or harshness. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > qualities or characteristics of wine > [adjective] > mellow

mellow1673

silkena1704

1673 M. Stevenson Poems 52 In this low Country, is high Country Wine, Here's your old mellow Malaga, Muscadine, Canary, Florence, and Medera's here.

1674 T. Duffett Amorous Old-woman i. ii As mellow as an Angelot Cheese, that has been mortifi'd Fifteen Months in Horse-dung.

1737 in W. Walker Bards of Bon-accord (1887) 161 Turbot, far requested for his white And mellow flesh, sea-pheasant often named.

1765 Museum Rusticum 4 398 Fine-flavoured, mellow, sweet beef from beasts fed with oil-cakes.

1787 J. Croft Treat. Wines Portugal 7 The Port Wines..being less racey and mellow than the Alicants from Spain.

1853 C. Brontë Villette II. xix. 53 His spirit was of vintage too mellow and generous to sour.

1892 J. M. Walsh Tea 98 Clear and bright in liquor, and mellow or ‘mealy’ in flavor.

1910 Encycl. Brit. VII. 749/2 Lancashire cheese, when well made and ripe, is loose in texture and is mellow; it has a piquant flavour.

1937 Amer. Home Apr. 106/3 (advt.) Pour in the mellow richness of Brer Rabbit molasses—and you have gingerbread that for down-right goodness has no equal.

1990 Baltimore July 76/2 The British Brewing Company..has been supplying bars in Fells Point and Downtown with kegs of a deliciously mellow English ‘session Beer’.

e. Chiefly poetic. Of a landscape, season, etc.: characterized by warmth and abundance; gentle in nature.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by age or cycles > [adjective] > ripe or ripened > of landscape, season, etc.

mellow1820

1820 J. Keats To Autumn i, in Lamia & Other Poems 137 Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

a1845 T. Hood Poems (1846) II. 49 Twas in that mellow season of the year When the hot Sun singes the yellow leaves Till they be gold.

1863 B. Taylor Poet's Jrnl. 10 A moment she the mellow landscape scanned.

1913 J. Muir Story of my Boyhood iii. 123 We visited the trees that had been wounded by the axe,..and gathered the nuts as they fell in the mellow Indian summer.

1992 P. Kearney Way to Babylon (BNC) 156 Autumn was not a bad season. There were gales, of course, but..there were mellow days scattered through it.

a. Of soil: soft, friable, easily worked; rich, loamy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > soft or yielding

rotten?1440

mellow1531

sour1532

unctuous1555

heavy1577

omy1673

mellowed1798

sinky1828

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. iv. sig. Bviii The most melowe and fertile erth.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 25 If the ground be mellowe, after Barley in some places they sowe Millet.

1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 67 in Sylva Mixing it with..Cow-dung, or very mellow Soil.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 Hoary Frosts..will rot the Mellow Soil.

1771 A. Hunter et al. Georgical Ess. (new ed.) II. viii. 164 In the north of England, when the earth turns up with a mellow and crumbly appearance, and smoaks, the farmers say the earth is brimming.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 632 It delights most in a stiff, mellow, well pulverized soil.

1861 Amer. Agriculturist July 202/2 This plant makes the ground very mellow, and is an excellent preparation for winter grain.

1879 J. Miller Nicaragua in Poems of Places 175 My father old He turns alone the mellow sod.

1939 U.S. Dept. Agric. Yearbk. 1938 1172 Mellow soil, soil that is easily worked or penetrated.

1971 Gloss. Soil Sci. Terms (Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.) 10/2 Mellow soil—A very soft, very friable, porous soil without any tendency toward hardness or harshness.

1990 Case IH Farm Forum Spring 4/1 To most farmers, soil has good tilth when it is mellow, granular and crumbles easily in the hand.

b. Soft; molten; (esp. of a cow's skin) soft and pliable. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > [adjective]

lithec888

merroweOE

neshOE

tender?c1225

softa1250

unharda1300

supplec1325

melchc1350

unsad1398

slobbery?a1425

lushc1440

mulch?1440

gentle1555

mellow1577

softly1589

tenerous1598

siddow1601

maumy1728

frush1848

1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie sig. Dij^v Her Bed she lies vpon is a younge mellowe braine: where Fancie softlie lies and sleepes, and neuer feelith paine.

1623 J. Webster Deuils Law-case i. i. sig. B1^v In hote weather, The painting on their face has been so mellow, They haue left the poore man harder worke by halfe, To mend the Copie he wrought by.

1768 W. Lewis & A. Chisholm in Ann. Sci. (1952) 8 219 The more the cinder was retained in it, the mellower the iron.

1797 Encycl. Brit. III. 544/2 This frequent turning it over, cools, dries, and deadens the grain; whereby it becomes mellow.

1834 W. Youatt Cattle iii. 15 The skin of the Devon, notwithstanding his curly hair, is exceedingly mellow and elastic.

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 836 [Young cattle.] To be a good thriver..the hair should feel mossy, and the touch of the skin mellow.

1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 390/2 Young cattle..are at 18 months old already of great size, with open horns, mellow hide [etc.].

a. Of sound, music, a voice, etc.: warm-toned; soft and gentle; full, rich; without harshness.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > pleasantness of sound > [adjective] > gentle or not harsh

smalleOE

softc1230

gentle1548

softly1576

melting1585

mellow1650

dulcified1684

tender1709

silken1785

smooth1836

velvety1896

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [adjective] > timbre or quality > mellow

richc1400

mellow1650

pear-shaped1925

1650 R. Baron Pocula Castalia 112 Thy Muse, the goodliest of the Iove-born Quire, (From whose Syrenious voyce and mellow Lyre Orpheus might learn to tune the chiming Sphears).

1668 H. More Divine Dialogues (1713) iii. xxxvi. 284 How sweet and mellow, and yet how Majestick, is the Sound of it!

1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Twelfth Bk. Metamorphoses in Fables 427 The mellow Harp did not their Ears employ.

1722 A. Snape Let. 23 Apr. in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 244 His voice, since its breaking, is somewhat harsh, but I believe will grow mellower.

1747 W. Collins Odes 49 Pale Melancholy..Pour'd thro' the mellow Horn her pensive Soul.

1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IV lxxxvii. 114 Who swore his voice was very rich and mellow.

1849 E. A. Poe in Sartain's Union Mag. Nov. 304/1 Hear the mellow wedding-bells, Golden bells!

1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xliii. 560 There were the usual night-sounds of the country..the barking of distant dogs, the mellow lowing of far-off kine—but these didn't seem to break the stillness.

1911 F. H. Burnett Secret Garden xxvi. 284 When they told her about the robin and the first flight of the young ones she laughed a motherly little mellow laugh in her throat.

1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 166/1 (advt.) Loyal is a new Revere model with..mellow Westminster chimes.

1993 M. Atwood in Quarry Mag. Apr. 132 ‘I need some help,’ he said, his voice bereft of the mellow cool tones that he affected to make him sound like a white drugged-out Rastah.

b. Of colour, light, etc.: mild, soft, gentle, muted. Also, of an object or its appearance: soft in colour or visual texture, esp. as the result of age. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [adjective] > soft

tender?a1513

soft1672

delicate1675

mellow1706

mellowy1816

serene1846

etherean1881

mellowed1889

muted1897

pastel1899

pastel1914

sedate1924

1706 J. Savage tr. R. de Piles Art of Painting 386 His Pencil was light and mellow.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. i. 28 The colouring of a picture was not mellow enough.

1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 314 The golden harvest, of a mellow brown.

1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion i. 48 The sun declining shot A slant and mellow radiance.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 93 Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro' the mellow shade.

1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. vi. 132 Pleasant jets of light were thrown on mellow oak and bright brass.

1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I Am ii Time had toned down every colour inside and outside the good old house to mellowest half tints.

1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables ii. 30 The sun had set some time since, but the landscape was still clear in the mellow afterlight.

1918 ‘R. West’ Return of Soldier i. 7 My eye followed the mellow brick of the garden wall through the trees.

1938 Amer. Home Oct. 70/2 (caption) Think of it for Thanksgiving time, when the whole family comes to dinner! This new cloth window shade is a mellow yellow that blends with almost any decorative background.

1952 J. Steinbeck East of Eden xvi. 177 The memory was mellow and warm and comfortable, now that it was all over.

1986 Artnews Sept. 55/3 Nigro's..colours are typically muted and harmonious, or turned up only at the point of giving his surfaces a mellow and uniform glow.

4. Phonetics. Of a consonantal sound: characterized by relatively low acoustic frequency and intensity, and a relative lack of constriction of the vocal tract at the point of articulation. Cf. strident adj. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > consonant > [adjective] > others

harda1722

lunar1776

solar1776

cerebral1816

emphatic1855

mobile1861

vocular1884

movable1933

pre-final1934

prenasalized1937

mellow1956

1956 R. Jakobson & M. Halle Fund. of Lang. 31 Strident/mellow: acoustically—higher intensity noise vs. lower intensity noise; genetically—rough-edged vs. smooth-edged.

1956 R. Jakobson & M. Halle Fund. of Lang. 42 Mellow constrictives..do not appear in child language before the emergence of the first liquid.

1976 Word 27 220 /s/..[and] /f/..also embody the Strident vs. Mellow distinction and are both +Strident.

1991 D. Crystal Dict. Linguistics & Phonetics (ed. 3) (at cited word) Mellow sounds are defined articulatorily and acoustically, as those involving a less complex or ‘smooth-edged’ constriction at the point of articulation, and marked by acoustic energy of relatively low frequency and intensity, compared with strident sounds. Plosives and nasals are examples.

II. Applied to persons.

5. Of a person, or a person's character, emotions, work, etc.: mature; softened by age and experience; having the gentleness or dignity of maturity.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > adult > [adjective]

mucha1154

of (formerly also at, to) agec1300

perfect agec1384

full-growna1393

ripea1393

greatc1515

adult1531

maturate1556

mellowed1575

mellow1592

full-aged1596

mature1609

timed1611

grown-upa1640

adulted1645

grown1645

upgrown1667

matured1805

coming of age1858

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > [adjective] > making > made

softened1579

mollified1849

mellow1893

1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. i. sig. B2^v My yeeres were mellow, his but young and greene.

1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. B4^v Maister Greene-wit is not yet So mellow in yeares as he.

1640 W. Vaughan Church Militant 307 Mellow Age Shall by Degrees compose their Passions Rage.

1749 T. Smollett Regicide v. iv. 69 In florid Youth, or mellow Age, scarce fleets One Hour without its Care!

1855 M. Arnold To Republican Friend, contn. 13 The mellow glory of the Attic stage.

1893 G. Smith United States 63 He [sc. Benjamin Franklin] was an offspring of New England Puritanism grown mellow.

1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxviii. 426 As Mrs. Lynde told her Thomas that night. ‘Marilla Cuthbert has got mellow. That's what.’

1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 65/2 That first love grown mellow and richer for the joy and suffering of the years.

1993 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. a1/3 Is this mellow politician the same man whom hard-edged veterans of city politics dismissed in 1989 as not ready for prime time?

a. Drunk, now esp. mildly and pleasantly so; good-humoured or expansive as a result of drinking.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk

merrya1382

semi-bousyc1460

pipe merry1542

totty1570

tipsy1577

martin-drunk1592

pleasant1596

mellow1611

tip-merry1612

flustered1615

lusticka1616

well to live1619

jolly1652

happy1662

hazy1673

top-heavy1687

hearty1695

half-seas-over1699

oiled1701

mellowish1703

half channelled over1709

drunkish1710

half-and-half1718

touched1722

uppisha1726

tosie1727

bosky1730

funny1751

fairish1756

cherry-merry1769

in suds1770

muddy1776

glorious1790

groggified1796

well-corned1800

fresh1804

to be mops and brooms1814

foggy1816

how-come-ye-so1816

screwy1820

off the nail1821

on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821

swipey1821

muggy1822

rosy1823

snuffy1823

spreeish1825

elevated1827

up a stump1829

half-cockedc1830

tightish1830

tipsified1830

half shaved1834

screwed1837

half-shot1838

squizzed1845

drinky1846

a sheet in the wind1862

tight1868

toppy1885

tiddly1905

oiled-up1918

bonkers1943

sloshed1946

tiddled1956

hickey-

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Enyvrer S'enyvrer, to be drunke, or in drinke; to be mellow, tipled, flusht, ouerseene.

1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Journall (new ed.) iii. sig. M8 For the world, I would not prize her,... Had she in her no good fellow That would drinke till he grew mellow.

1706 tr. H. Schopperus Crafty Courtier ii. i. 167 And none till mellow from their Liquor shrunk, But wond'rous politick they grew, and drunk.

1775 R. B. Sheridan Songs Duenna ii. 12 The hateful fellow, That's crabbed when he's mellow.

1795 S. Rowson Volunteers 14 I'll spend the night in gaming drinking nor e'er go home till mellow.

1847 H. Melville Omoo lxxx. 309 Certain good fellows..finally dragged him away to an illicit vendor of spirits, in whose house the party got gloriously mellow.

1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxi. 174 Now the master, mellow almost to the verge of geniality,..began to draw a map of America on the blackboard, to exercise the geography class upon.

1895 W. C. Scully Kafir Stories 193 The beer was not in sufficient quantities to cause intoxication, but nevertheless all were somewhat mellow when the sun went down.

1929 Travel Jan. 18/1 ‘Treasure Island’ tells how the old sea-dog at the ‘Admiral Benbow’, when mellow with grog, used to prate of the Dry Tortugas..and the Spanish Main.

1946 W. S. Maugham Then & Now xvi. 90 Bartolomeo..was, if not drunk, at least mellow.

1985 E. Leonard Glitz xvii. 144 I get mellow when I drink.

b. slang (chiefly U.S.). Of a person: pleasantly euphoric or relaxed as a result of taking drugs. Of the effect of a drug: mildly intoxicating, inducing a pleasant euphoria.

ΚΠ

1946 M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe Really Blues (Gloss.) 376 Mellow, feeling good, especially after smoking marihuana.

1971 E. E. Landy Underground Dict. 130 Mellow,..describes feeling one has just as one begins to feel the effects of a drug.

1992 Independent 26 Sept. 3/6 Mark explained that 25 mushrooms would give someone not used to them a ‘mellow hit’; regulars take 50-plus and Mark remembers when he ate 500.

a. Good-humoured, genial, jovial; relaxed and easy-going.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective]

blithe971

gladOE

blithemod1065

jollya1350

well begonea1425

well-cheered1435

hearty1440

cheery1448

cheerfula1477

chereful1486

unsweera1500

cheerly1565

riant1567

hilaire1575

light-spirited1581

undistempered1589

comfortablea1593

well-humoured1600

good-humoured1604

rident1609

hoddy1664

chicket1682

mellow1711

blithesome1724

in spirits1747

winsome1787

hilarious1823

resilient1830

blithe-hearted1848

cheero1903

bucked1907

cheerio1918

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 68. ¶3 In all thy Humours, whether grave or mellow.

1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 7 The Baronet was..as merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound.

1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant II. viii. 234 When..their glasses were filled with..port, Mowbray grew a trifle mellower in mood.

1944 ‘Palinurus’ Unquiet Grave ii. 38 There is always a raw and intolerant nation eager to destroy the tolerant and mellow.

1976 Honolulu Star-Bull. 21 Dec. e1/5 The Broiler is considered one of the mellowest nightclubs in town because it caters to a younger, college-age clientele that tends to be less rowdy.

1994 Kindred Spirit (Devon, U.K.) Autumn 80/3 (advt.) Spontaneous, mellow, happy 40s woman.

b. slang (originally and chiefly Jazz and among African Americans). Pleasing or satisfying in any respect; excellent; skilful.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]

faireOE

bremea1000

goodlyOE

goodfulc1275

noblec1300

pricec1300

specialc1325

gentlec1330

fine?c1335

singulara1340

thrivena1350

thriven and throa1350

gaya1375

properc1380

before-passinga1382

daintiful1393

principala1398

gradelya1400

burlyc1400

daintyc1400

thrivingc1400

voundec1400

virtuousc1425

hathelc1440

curiousc1475

singlerc1500

beautiful1502

rare?a1534

gallant1539

eximious1547

jolly1548

egregious?c1550

jellyc1560

goodlike1562

brawc1565

of worth1576

brave?1577

surprising1580

finger-licking1584

admirablea1586

excellinga1586

ambrosial1598

sublimated1603

excellent1604

valiant1604

fabulous1609

pure1609

starryc1610

topgallant1613

lovely1614

soaringa1616

twanging1616

preclarent1623

primea1637

prestantious1638

splendid1644

sterling1647

licking1648

spankinga1666

rattling1690

tearing1693

famous1695

capital1713

yrare1737

pure and —1742

daisy1757

immense1762

elegant1764

super-extra1774

trimming1778

grand1781

gallows1789

budgeree1793

crack1793

dandy1794

first rate1799

smick-smack1802

severe1805

neat1806

swell1810

stamming1814

divine1818

great1818

slap-up1823

slapping1825

high-grade1826

supernacular1828

heavenly1831

jam-up1832

slick1833

rip-roaring1834

boss1836

lummy1838

flash1840

slap1840

tall1840

high-graded1841

awful1843

way up1843

exalting1844

hot1845

ripsnorting1846

clipping1848

stupendous1848

stunning1849

raving1850

shrewd1851

jammy1853

slashing1854

rip-staving1856

ripping1858

screaming1859

up to dick1863

nifty1865

premier cru1866

slap-bang1866

clinking1868

marvellous1868

rorty1868

terrific1871

spiffing1872

all wool and a yard wide1882

gorgeous1883

nailing1883

stellar1883

gaudy1884

fizzing1885

réussi1885

ding-dong1887

jim-dandy1888

extra-special1889

yum-yum1890

out of sight1891

outasight1893

smooth1893

corking1895

large1895

super1895

hot dog1896

to die for1898

yummy1899

deevy1900

peachy1900

hi1901

v.g.1901

v.h.c.1901

divvy1903

doozy1903

game ball1905

goodo1905

bosker1906

crackerjack1910

smashinga1911

jake1914

keen1914

posh1914

bobby-dazzling1915

juicy1916

pie on1916

jakeloo1919

snodger1919

whizz-bang1920

wicked1920

four-star1921

wow1921

Rolls-Royce1922

whizz-bang1922

wizard1922

barry1923

nummy1923

ripe1923

shrieking1926

crazy1927

righteous1930

marvy1932

cool1933

plenty1933

brahmaa1935

smoking1934

solid1935

mellow1936

groovy1937

tough1937

bottler1938

fantastic1938

readyc1938

ridge1938

super-duper1938

extraordinaire1940

rumpty1940

sharp1940

dodger1941

grouse1941

perfecto1941

pipperoo1945

real gone1946

bosting1947

supersonic1947

whizzo1948

neato1951

peachy-keen1951

ridgey-dite1953

ridgy-didge1953

top1953

whizzing1953

badass1955

wild1955

belting1956

magic1956

bitching1957

swinging1958

ridiculous1959

a treat1959

fab1961

bad-assed1962

uptight1962

diggish1963

cracker1964

marv1964

radical1964

bakgat1965

unreal1965

pearly1966

together1968

safe1970

bad1971

brilliant1971

fabby1971

schmick1972

butt-kicking1973

ripper1973

Tiffany1973

bodacious1976

rad1976

kif1978

awesome1979

death1979

killer1979

fly1980

shiok1980

stonking1980

brill1981

dope1981

to die1982

mint1982

epic1983

kicking1983

fabbo1984

mega1985

ill1986

posho1989

pukka1991

lovely jubbly1992

awesomesauce2001

nang2002

bess2006

amazeballs2009

boasty2009

daebak2009

beaut2013

1936 D. Burley in Chicago Defender 9 May 23/5 Milk-fed, term applied to real ‘mellow chicks’.

1938 C. Calloway Hi De Ho 16 Mellow, all right, fine.

1942 Z. N. Hurston in Amer. Mercury July 89 If they's white, they's right! If they's yellow, they's mellow! If they's brown, they can stick around.

1944 D. Burley Orig. Handbk. Harlem Jive 70 The whole town's copping the mellow jive.

1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 29/1 Mellow fellow, a satisfactory person. Mellow mouse, attractive female.

1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 336 Mellow,..skillful; sincere, heart-felt; said of a jazz performance.

1979 N. Mailer Executioner's Song (1980) ii. viii. 627 ‘What do you think of the suicide now?’ ‘Nonviolent,’ Dennis said, ‘Really mellow. Like Romeo and Juliet, they took a poison.’

1991 A. Martin Walking on Water (1992) iv. 15 ‘This is a real mellow place,’ he told me, ‘I know you're going to have a great time here.’

Compounds

C1. Chiefly parasynthetic or with adverbial force

† mellow-breathing adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1761 F. Fawkes Orig. Poems 26 The merry pipe, the mellow-breathing flute.

mellow-coloured adj.

ΚΠ

1895 ‘C. Holland’ My Japanese Wife 70 Countless numbers of paper lanterns, which throw a mellow-coloured radiance on the faces of the passers-by.

2000 Bath Chron. (Nexis) 8 Jan. 2 Mellow coloured cottages line the route to the Market Cross.

† mellow-deep adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1684 J. Smith Profit & Pleasure United x. 125 The best Land to set this Plant on, must be a Mellow-deep Mold, compounded of Sand, clay, and good Earth.

1832 Ld. Tennyson Eleänore in Poems (new ed.) 28 A sweep Of richest pauses, evermore Drawn from each other mellow-deep.

mellow-eyed adj.

ΚΠ

1863 W. H. Russell My Diary North & South 168 Mr Howell Cobb, a fat, double-chinned, mellow-eyed man, rapped with his hammer on the desk.

1997 Guardian (Nexis) 11 Oct. 12 Big, stoical, mellow-eyed David Seaman..had just sat down when the first question hit him.

mellow-lighted adj.

ΚΠ

1892 W. Pater in New Rev. June 714 The melodious, mellow-lighted space.

† mellow-mouthed adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (new ed.) v. 182 A preacher,..knowing his auditours wallowed in sinne, ought not with..mellow-mouthed words tickle their eares.

mellow-ripe adj.

ΚΠ

1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Dec. 107 Ere they were halfe mellow ripe.

1806 J. W. Croker Amazoniad ii. iv. 21 Tho' vig'rous sage, and mellow ripe, tho' fresh, And fat, as if she fed on human flesh.

1891 A. J. Munby Too Late in Vestigia Retrorsum 123 And I grew sleek with gold, And mellow-ripe in mind.

† mellow-tasted adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 159 The mellow-tasted Burgundy.

mellow-tempered adj.

ΚΠ

1906 N.E.D. at Mellow Mellow-tempered.

1999 Idaho Statesman (Nexis) 9 Sept. 1 e These mellow-tempered bees are for sale on [the] Internet.

mellow-toned adj.

ΚΠ

1809 Examiner 28 May 348/2 The light silver sky strongly relieves from the light tinted offscape, deep and mellow-toned foreground.

1873 E. J. Brennan Witch of Nemi 85 Mellow-toned laughter.

1991 Gramophone Jan. 1390/3 Licad's mellow-toned, true-to-life disc.

C2.

mellow bug n. [with reference to the apple-like odour of the secretion produced by certain whirligig beetles] U.S. = whirligig n. 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Adephaga (carnivorous beetles) > Hydradephaga (aquatic) > member of family Gyrinidae (whirligig)

whirligig1713

cramp-spider1721

whirlwig1816

weaver1864

mellow bug1894

gyrinid1925

1894 J. C. Harris Little Mr. Thimblefinger xii. 140 Why, I expect it is a mellow bug... I used to catch them when I was a girl and put them in my handkerchief. They smell just like a ripe apple.

1972 L. A. Swan & C. S. Papp Common Insects N. Amer. 351 Gyrinids exude a milky secretion..for which they have been given such names as ‘apple smellers’ and ‘mallow bugs’.

mellow yellow n. slang (chiefly U.S.) (a) n. banana peel dried for smoking as a narcotic (see quot. 1984); (b) adj. intoxicated from smoking this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > miscellaneous narcotic drugs from plants

henbane?a1425

metel1528

datura1598

carpese1605

cabbage bark1777

majoun1780

lettuce opium1799

stramonium1802

niopo1821

tea oil1837

khat1858

pituri1861

steppe rue1881

ololiuqui1894

toloache1894

yopo1916

mellow yellow1966

1966 ‘Donovan’ Mellow Yellow (song) 6 Elecatrical [sic] banana, is gonna be a sudden craze; Electrical banana is bound to be the very next phase; They call me Mellow Yellow.

1967 Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. (Mag.) 28/3 So I offered him—grass, acid, speed, magic—mushrooms, DMT, hash, and mellow yellow.

1968 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3 ii. 34 Mellow yellow, intoxicated from smoking a banana peel.

1984 E. L. Abel Dict. Drug Abuse Terms 102 Mellow Yellow, 1960s hoax. Inside scrapings from banana skins that were baked, then smoked, allegedly producing effects akin to marihuana.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mellowv.

Brit.

/ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S.

/ˈmɛloʊ/

Forms: 1500s mellowe, 1500s melow, 1500s melowe, 1500s– mellow, 1600s meloe.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mellow adj.

Etymology: < mellow adj. Compare earlier mellowing n.

a. transitive. To ripen or soften (fruit); to mature (wine, etc.); to render (a food or its flavour) milder, sweeter, or richer; to free from harshness or acidity. Also figurative.In early use sometimes applied to persons in figurative context: cf. sense 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [verb (transitive)] > mellow or mature

mellow1575

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparing fruit and vegetables > prepare fruit and vegetables [verb (transitive)] > ripen fruit

mellow1575

1575 G. Gascoigne Councell to Withipoll in Posies 155 Those sunnes do mellowe men so fast As most that trauayle come home very ripe.

a1592 R. Greene Hist. Orlando Furioso (1594) sig. G^v Mee thinks I feele how Cinthya..meloweth those desires Which phrensies scares had ripened in my head.

1630 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 317 All this mellows me for heaven.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 94 Winter Fruits are mellow'd by the Frost.

1701 J. Addison Let. from Italy 132 On foreign mountains may the Sun refine The Grape's soft juice, and mellow it to wine.

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison V. xiii. 74 Yours is Love mellowed into Friendship.

1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 244 Age,..As time improves the grape's authentic juice, Mellows and makes the speech more fit for use.

1818 R. Southey Let. to H. H. Southey II. 115 Generous minds and tempers..are mellowed, like wine, as they grow older.

1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold I. iii. v. 218 The year..had mellowed the fruits of the earth.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 44 Drink..will mellow the sourness of age.

1911 J. Muir My First Summer in Sierra 108 Petting and coaxing and nursing the savory mess,—well oiled and mellowed with bacon boiled into the heart of it.

1937 Life 26 July 88/1 (advt.) What happens in fine wines happens in tobacco—Aging mellows and enhances flavor.

1991 Chile Pepper 5 ii. 40 The chiles are first added to the oil, then they are mellowed by coconut.

b. intransitive. Of fruit, wine, cheese, etc.: to ripen or mature. Hence, of any food or its flavour: to become milder, sweeter, or richer. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > [verb (intransitive)] > mellow

mellow1597

the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [verb (intransitive)] > mellow or mature

marry1568

mellow1737

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 1 So now prosperitie begins to mellow And drop into the rotten mouth of Death.

a1631 J. Donne On Himself 6 Till death us lay To ripe and mellow here we are stuborne Clay.

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 297 From a dark-greene, [bananas] mellow into a flaming yellow.

1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner Pref. sig. Aiv Exactly when to gather both those which ripen on the Tree, and those which attain not their full ripeness there, but must be laid up to mellow in the House.

1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 183 A Wine..mellowing and improving as it is kept.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 90 Their juices will mellow by mingling together.

1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. I. i. 21 These were often hung in the smoke of a chimney, at some distance above the fire, in order to mellow.

1856 J. G. Whittier Ranger in Panorama 138 Where the purple beach-plum mellows.

1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 74 Unripe fruit is bitter oft i' the mouth, Yet mellows with the months.

1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer Odyssey iii A cup of wine which had mellowed eleven years in its jar.

1971 Sunday Times 28 Mar. (Colour Suppl.) 36/1 Lancashire. When young it is slightly sharp and soft enough to spread, but it mellows with age.

1988 Yankee Mar. 99/1 Set aside to allow the flavors to mellow at room temperature.

a. transitive. To make (soil) soft and loamy; to render (land) suitable for cultivation. Now English regional.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > soil formation > [verb (transitive)] > form specific type of soil

clod1530

mellow1577

podzolize1932

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 23^v The land it selfe is also called grosse and rawe, that is not well mellowed.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 115 A small streame, which..meloes most of the Gardens and Groues.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry iv. 44 Wind, Sun and Dews, all which sweeten and mellow the Land very much.

1736 Compl. Family-piece iii. 454 Fallow your Wheat Land, which will kill the Weeds, and mellow the Ground.

1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 288 Their surfaces soon become mellowed by the action of the air.

1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) at Sad Land is sad when the frosts of winter have not mellowed it.

b. intransitive. Of soil: to become soft and loamy. Now English regional.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > soil formation > [verb (intransitive)] > form specific type of soil

clod1530

mellow1815

podzolize1932

solodize1934

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 184 The earth..should have sufficient time to mellow and ferment.

1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby To ‘lie fauf’ as when the soil is left to mellow.

1895 Tablet 9 Nov. 739 Then the soil will have mellowed sufficiently to bear wheat and potatoes.

a. transitive. To soften, to subdue or tone down, to free from harshness or crudity. Also: to make (a person) softer or more tolerant in nature; to make milder or gentler as the result of age and experience. to mellow out of: to remove (something) from (a person or thing) by a process of softening or toning down.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (transitive)] > purify or refine

slick1340

filec1400

polishc1400

burnish1526

polite1535

extirpate1548

purify1548

soften1579

purgea1582

refine1592

mellow1593

civilize1596

rarefy1600

incivilize1603

sublimate1624

alembicate1627

chastise1627

sublime1631

calcine1635

gentilize1635

ennoble1636

subtilize1638

deconcoct1655

sublimizea1729

smooth1762

absterge1817

decrassify1855

sandpaper1890

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > treat gently [verb (transitive)] > make gentle or mild

soft?c1225

mild1340

melta1382

softenc1410

mollifya1450

amollish1474

amolify1483

ameeka1500

mellow1593

dulcify1647

the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [verb (transitive)] > tone down

dilute1665

mellow1694

break1753

sadden1787

sober1843

degrade1844

disintensify1884

scumble1905

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 16 b As Archesilaus ouer-melodied, and too-much melowed and sugred with sweet tunes,..caused his eares to be new relished with harsh sower and vnsauory sounds.

1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. P2 The Page was easily mellowd with his attractiue eloquence.

1694 J. Dryden To Sir G. Kneller in Ann. Miscellany 99 Time shall..Mellow your Colours.

1743 R. Blair Grave 8 The sooty Black-bird Mellow'd his Pipe, and soften'd ev'ry Note.

1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. III. xlvii. 36 In order to mellow these humours.

1786 S. Rogers Sailor 8 Its colours mellow'd, not impair'd, by time.

1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 67 At first the sounds, by distance tame, Mellowed along the waters came.

1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe ii. 48 Lichens mellow the scarred masses of fallen rock.

1887 G. Saintsbury Jeffrey in Ess. Eng. Lit. (1891) 102 The priggishness which he showed early, and never entirely lost, till fame, prosperity, and the approach of old age mellowed it out of him.

1902 A. Thomson Lauder & Lauderdale x. 102 The King..visited him..to endeavour by personal interview to mellow his manners.

1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage cvi. 557 Time had mellowed the marble to the colour of honey.

1942 E. Bowen Bowen's Court iv. 66 Age may have mellowed him, for he is said to have made a benevolent grandfather.

1974 F. Forsyth Dogs of War (1975) ii. xviii. 305 The sun was blistering, but mellowed by a light wind.

1986 Country Quest July 26/1 Offa's Dyke..a barely discernible mound with the racial quarrels it symbolises long ago mellowed out of the memory.

b. intransitive. To soften; to become mild, gentle, toned down, or subdued; to become free from harshness.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [verb (intransitive)] > tone down

mellow1737

sober1879

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (intransitive)] > become purified or refined

sublime1624

polish1712

mellow1737

bleach1799

purify1805

sublimate1850

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > be mild, gentle, or tolerant [verb (intransitive)] > become

melta1225

to-melta1240

mollifya1530

relaxate1598

relax1688

mellow1737

1737 M. Green Spleen 711 Unhurt by sickness' blasting rage And slowly mellowing in age.

1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) II. v. 4 The impetuosity of his temper, when he came to act with his equals, insensibly abated..and mellowed into a cordial soldierly frankness.

1823 Ld. Byron Island ii. xv. 36 The broad sun set, but not with lingering sweep, As in the North he mellows o'er the deep.

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xi. 297 The very furniture of the room seemed to mellow..in its tone.

1861 J. Brown Horæ Subsecivæ 2nd Ser. II. 293 His character mellowed and toned down in his later years.

1902 A. E. W. Mason Four Feathers xvii. 165 The sunlight mellowed and reddened.

1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 34/2 (advt.) Linoleum so treated mellows and gets better looking. It will wear for years and years.

1976 Evening Advertiser (Swindon) 31 Dec. 8/1 The ‘Terrible Twins’ of yesteryear, Mr Jack Jones, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers, and Mr. Hugh Scanlon, president of the Engineering Workers, have mellowed.

1986 T. O. Echewa Crippled Dancer ii. i. 19 His pidgin English had mellowed into a mellifluous, cosmopolitan flavour.

a. transitive. To intoxicate; to make pleasantly drunk. Usually in passive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (transitive)] > make drunk

fordrenchc1000

indrunkena1300

mazec1390

distemper1491

whittle1530

swill1548

inebriate1555

disguise1560

intoxicatea1566

tipple1566

overtake1577

betipple1581

seethe1599

fuddlec1600

fox1611

wound1613

cupa1616

fuzzle1621

to gild overa1625

sousea1625

tip1637

tosticate1650

drunkify1664

muddle1668

tipsy1673

sop1682

fuzz1685

confound1705

mellowa1761

prime1788

lush1821

soak1826

touch1833

rosin1877

befuddle1887

slew1888

lush1927

wipe1972

a1761 J. Cawthorn Poems (1771) 189 Gods..will, like mortals, swear, and hector, When mellow'd with a cup of nectar.

1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 13 When he thought him sufficiently mellowed, he proposed to him to quit the service of his new employers.

1855 Ld. Tennyson Brook in Maud & Other Poems 109 There he mellow'd all his heart with ale.

1937 J. P. Marquand Late George Apley v. 51 The Irish conductor in the Brookline car, slightly mellowed by potations.

1997 P. Melville Ventriloquist's Tale (1998) i. 66 In slow time, mellowed by rum..this prestigious and dignified assembly of parliamentarians discussed the entire range of life's topics.

b. intransitive. colloquial (originally U.S.). With out. To become relaxed, esp. under the influence of a drug. Also (occasionally) transitive (reflexive).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > calmness > become composed or calm [verb (intransitive)]

saughtelc1400

breathe1485

pacify1509

settle1591

compose1663

to breathe freely (also easy, easily)1695

tranquillize1748

cool1836

simmer down1842

calm1877

relax1907

to cool it1952

to Zen out1968

mellow1974

to take a chill pill1981

chillax1994

the mind > emotion > calmness > compose or make calm [verb (transitive)]

softa1225

stilla1325

coolc1330

accoya1375

appeasec1374

attemperc1386

lullc1386

quieta1398

peasea1400

amesec1400

assuagec1400

mesec1400

soberc1430

modify?a1439

establish1477

pacify1484

pacify1515

unbrace?1526

settle1530

steady1530

allay1550

calm1559

compromitc1574

restore1582

recollect1587

serenize1598

smooth1604

compose1607

recompose1611

becalm1613

besoothe1614

unprovokea1616

halcyon1616

unstrain1616

leniate1622

tranquillize1623

unperplexa1631

belull1631

sedate1646

unmaze1647

assopiatea1649

serenate1654

serene1654

tranquillify1683

soothe1697

unalarm1722

reserene1755

quietize1791

peacify1845

quieten1853

conjure1856

peace1864

disfever1880

patise1891

de-tension1961

mellow1974

the mind > emotion > calmness > compose oneself [verb (reflexive)]

stilla1325

spakea1400

amesec1400

soft?a1500

stay1537

recollect1595

collect1602

compose1607

recompose1611

to reassume oneself1635

relax1685

summon1745

mellow1974

centre1980

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > be under influence of drugs [verb (intransitive)] > relax under influence of drug

mellow1974

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > have intoxicating effect on [verb (transitive)] > make relaxed

mellow1974

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > be under influence of drugs [verb (reflexive)] > relax under influence of drug

mellow1974

1974 Rolling Stone 14 Feb. 38/1 Critics..were saying he'd mellowed out..‘drained the venom from his voice’.

1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) ix. 25/2 How about we all smoke a little dope and mellow out, okay?

1985 R. Silverberg Tom O'Bedlam (1986) v. iii. 178 A tranquilizer whenever you felt the need to mellow yourself out.

2000 Toronto Star (Nexis) 8 Feb. c3/6 Anger comes out when you least expect it. Mellow out and think through a decision carefully.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

n.¹1925

n.²1967

n.³1977

adj.1440

v.1575

单词	mellow
释义	mellown.¹ Brit. /ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S. /ˈmɛloʊ/ Origin: Of uncertain origin. Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps (see quot. 1925) originally shortened < melody n., but in written form confused with mellow adj.; or perhaps playfully < mellow adj., as though a shortening of melody n. Compare mellow adj. 7b. U.S. slang. A spiritual or devotional song; an improvised jazz vocal. ΚΠ 1925 Amer. Mercury Dec. p. xvi (advt.) Negro spirituals are known throughout the South, but the ‘mellows’ and ‘make-up’ songs of the Louisiana Negro claim a distinctive place. ‘Mellow’ is the Negro word for melody, by which term their devotional songs are called. 1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §568 Mellows, spirituals or religious songs. 1958 P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz i. 21 There were sustained ‘mellows’—hollers in which a single idea or phrase might be repeated with numerous variations until the singer tired of it or thought of another. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mellown.² Brit. /ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S. /ˈmɛloʊ/ Origin: Perhaps formed within English, by conversion. Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps < mellow adj. U.S. slang (originally and chiefly Black English). A close friend; a lover. Also main mellow. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > close or intimate friend belamy?c1225 friarc1290 specialc1300 necessaryc1384 familiar?c1400 great frienda1425 gossea1549 particular1577 shopfellow?1577 cockmate1578 privado1584 bosom friend1590 better half1596 ingle1602 inward1607 bully boy1609 bosom-piecea1625 hail-fellow1650 bosom-bird1655 intimate1660 crony1665 intimado1682 chum1684 friend of one's bosom1712 right bower1829 inquaintancea1834 cad1836 chummy1849 bond-friend1860 raggie1901 bosom1913 aceboy1951 boon coon1951 mellow1967 squeeze1980 acegirl2009 1967 C. L. Cooper Farm i. 97 Now, there's never been a day in my life when I couldn't go to 1 of my main mellows and get some help. 1972 D. Claerbaut Black Jargon in White Amer. 72 Mellow,..a loved one of the opposite sex: she's my mellow. 1976 in D. Wepman et al. Life 68 Tell my mellows I'll spring 'em. 1994 ‘Beastie Boys’ Do It in Ill Communication (CD lyrics booklet) 10 Adam Yauch grab the mic 'cause you know you're my mellow. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mellown.³ Brit. /ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S. /ˈmɛloʊ/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mellow adj. Etymology: < mellow adj. U.S. colloquial. A state of relaxation or comfort; the state or quality of being mellow. to harsh one's mellow (slang), to ruin one's good or relaxed mood. ΚΠ 1977 New West 29 Aug. 38 No one can know what mellow is who hasn't traveled these highways. 1978 G. B. Trudeau Doonesbury (comic strip) in Los Angeles Times 27 Aug. I read today that ‘Winning Through Mellow’ is already this season's numero uno self-help manual. 1986 Wittenburg Door Oct. 9/1 I am practicing mellow today. 1995 Denver Post 9 Mar. a1 Yo, all you snowboarders. Bad dudes out there want to harsh your mellow. Thefts of snowboards..have surged. 1999 San Francisco Chron. (Electronic ed.) 26 Jan. A native of Chicago,..J.B., 49, nonetheless became the personification of California mellow. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mellowadj. Brit. /ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S. /ˈmɛloʊ/ Forms: late Middle English melwe, late Middle English–1500s melowe, late Middle English–1600s melow, 1500s millow, 1500s–1600s mellowe, 1500s– mellow; English regional 1800s mulla, 1800s– mallow, 1800s– mella, 1800s– mellah, 1800s– meller, 1800s– mellow; also (in mellow bug n. at Compounds 2) U.S. regional 1900s– mallow, 1900s– meller. Origin: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: meal n.¹; merrow adj. Etymology: Origin uncertain. Perhaps < an unrecorded attributive use of meal n.¹ (compare Middle English forms melow , melowe s.v., and the Old English inflected stem melw- ), or perhaps originally a variant of merrow adj., by dissimilation and by association with melch adj.Compare Dutch regional (West Flanders) meluw soft, tender, ripe (of uncertain origin, but perhaps ultimately related to meel meal n.¹). Compare mellowy adj., also first attested in mid 15th cent. I. Senses relating to the ripeness or softness of things. 1. a. Of fruit: ripe; soft, sweet, and juicy with ripeness. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > [adjective] > qualities of fruit mellow1440 mellowy?1440 chokely1578 gross1578 choky1597 racy1651 mealy1673 squashy1698 rusty-coat1782 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 332 Melwe, or rype, maturus. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. JJiiii Thynke howe god may make of that grene apple, a swete frute full melowe. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 318/2 Melowe as fruyte is, meur. 1589 T. Nashe Anat. Absurditie sig. Dii^v This greene fruite, beeing gathered before it be ripe, is rotten before it be mellow. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Paré Pomme parée, ripened in straw, &c.; made mellow by art. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. vi. 104 As Hercules did shake downe Mellow Fruite. View more context for this quotation 1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Melow, ripe. 1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar iii. iii. 42 Nature drops him down, without your Sin, Like mellow Fruit, without a Winter Storm. 1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth I. 266 Women like some other Fruit, Loose their relish when too Mellow. 1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick 37 Take a Mellow Apple,..take out the Core. a1832 W. Scott Lord of Isles (1834) iii. xxi. 117 Mellow nuts have hardest rind. 1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch IV. Finale 361 The youngest of the three..showed a marvellous nicety of aim in playing at marbles, or in throwing stones to bring down the mellow pears. 1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters i. i Each of 'em..as sleek and as round-about as a mellow codlin. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 839/2 The greater writers had..already done their characteristic work, and though the survivors continued to produce.., their works contained no new element and were at most mellow fruits of age. 1996 T. R. Chester Provisions of Light 35 Rosy apple, mellow pear, Bunch of roses she shall wear. †b. Of colour, odour, or flavour: indicative of ripeness. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by age or cycles > [adjective] > ripe or ripened > of colour, odour, etc. mellow1563 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes sig. Yyy.i^v So doth the crabbe, and choke pere, seme outwardelye to haue sometyme as fayre a redde, and as melow a colour, as the fruite which is good in deede. 1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. i. 2 My eye telleth me it [sc. an apple] is greene or red: my nose that it hath a mellow sent. c. Chiefly poetic. Of seeds, leaves, etc.; having reached the end of a process of growth or maturation; mature. Of crops or grain: ripe, ready for harvesting. ΚΠ 1595 tr. G. de S. Du Bartas First Day of Worldes Creation 27 The night makes mellow seeds sprout in the furrowes. 1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale (Douce 170) (1888) i. vi. 74 Till Ceres ripened had her mellowe graine. 1650 R. Baron Pocula Castalia 32 From Trees the mellow leaves in Autume glide. 1792 W. Cowper Needless Alarm in Speaker (new ed.) ii. xxiv. 70 Nor Autumn yet had brush'd from every spray. With her chill hand, the mellow leaves away. 1863 T. Woolner My Beautiful Lady i. 59 And lolls a weary wretch forlorn, While men reap the mellow corn. 1893 J. B. L. Warren Poems, Dramatic & Lyrical 127 Dispose thy loves in realms of mellow flowers. d. Of a foodstuff or beverage, or its flavour: well-matured; mild and smooth; free from acidity or harshness. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > qualities or characteristics of wine > [adjective] > mellow mellow1673 silkena1704 1673 M. Stevenson Poems 52 In this low Country, is high Country Wine, Here's your old mellow Malaga, Muscadine, Canary, Florence, and Medera's here. 1674 T. Duffett Amorous Old-woman i. ii As mellow as an Angelot Cheese, that has been mortifi'd Fifteen Months in Horse-dung. 1737 in W. Walker Bards of Bon-accord (1887) 161 Turbot, far requested for his white And mellow flesh, sea-pheasant often named. 1765 Museum Rusticum 4 398 Fine-flavoured, mellow, sweet beef from beasts fed with oil-cakes. 1787 J. Croft Treat. Wines Portugal 7 The Port Wines..being less racey and mellow than the Alicants from Spain. 1853 C. Brontë Villette II. xix. 53 His spirit was of vintage too mellow and generous to sour. 1892 J. M. Walsh Tea 98 Clear and bright in liquor, and mellow or ‘mealy’ in flavor. 1910 Encycl. Brit. VII. 749/2 Lancashire cheese, when well made and ripe, is loose in texture and is mellow; it has a piquant flavour. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 106/3 (advt.) Pour in the mellow richness of Brer Rabbit molasses—and you have gingerbread that for down-right goodness has no equal. 1990 Baltimore July 76/2 The British Brewing Company..has been supplying bars in Fells Point and Downtown with kegs of a deliciously mellow English ‘session Beer’. e. Chiefly poetic. Of a landscape, season, etc.: characterized by warmth and abundance; gentle in nature. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by age or cycles > [adjective] > ripe or ripened > of landscape, season, etc. mellow1820 1820 J. Keats To Autumn i, in Lamia & Other Poems 137 Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. a1845 T. Hood Poems (1846) II. 49 Twas in that mellow season of the year When the hot Sun singes the yellow leaves Till they be gold. 1863 B. Taylor Poet's Jrnl. 10 A moment she the mellow landscape scanned. 1913 J. Muir Story of my Boyhood iii. 123 We visited the trees that had been wounded by the axe,..and gathered the nuts as they fell in the mellow Indian summer. 1992 P. Kearney Way to Babylon (BNC) 156 Autumn was not a bad season. There were gales, of course, but..there were mellow days scattered through it. 2. a. Of soil: soft, friable, easily worked; rich, loamy. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > soft or yielding rotten?1440 mellow1531 sour1532 unctuous1555 heavy1577 omy1673 mellowed1798 sinky1828 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. iv. sig. Bviii The most melowe and fertile erth. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 25 If the ground be mellowe, after Barley in some places they sowe Millet. 1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 67 in Sylva Mixing it with..Cow-dung, or very mellow Soil. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 Hoary Frosts..will rot the Mellow Soil. View more context for this quotation 1771 A. Hunter et al. Georgical Ess. (new ed.) II. viii. 164 In the north of England, when the earth turns up with a mellow and crumbly appearance, and smoaks, the farmers say the earth is brimming. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 632 It delights most in a stiff, mellow, well pulverized soil. 1861 Amer. Agriculturist July 202/2 This plant makes the ground very mellow, and is an excellent preparation for winter grain. 1879 J. Miller Nicaragua in Poems of Places 175 My father old He turns alone the mellow sod. 1939 U.S. Dept. Agric. Yearbk. 1938 1172 Mellow soil, soil that is easily worked or penetrated. 1971 Gloss. Soil Sci. Terms (Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.) 10/2 Mellow soil—A very soft, very friable, porous soil without any tendency toward hardness or harshness. 1990 Case IH Farm Forum Spring 4/1 To most farmers, soil has good tilth when it is mellow, granular and crumbles easily in the hand. b. Soft; molten; (esp. of a cow's skin) soft and pliable. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > [adjective] lithec888 merroweOE neshOE tender?c1225 softa1250 unharda1300 supplec1325 melchc1350 unsad1398 slobbery?a1425 lushc1440 mulch?1440 gentle1555 mellow1577 softly1589 tenerous1598 siddow1601 maumy1728 frush1848 1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie sig. Dij^v Her Bed she lies vpon is a younge mellowe braine: where Fancie softlie lies and sleepes, and neuer feelith paine. 1623 J. Webster Deuils Law-case i. i. sig. B1^v In hote weather, The painting on their face has been so mellow, They haue left the poore man harder worke by halfe, To mend the Copie he wrought by. 1768 W. Lewis & A. Chisholm in Ann. Sci. (1952) 8 219 The more the cinder was retained in it, the mellower the iron. 1797 Encycl. Brit. III. 544/2 This frequent turning it over, cools, dries, and deadens the grain; whereby it becomes mellow. 1834 W. Youatt Cattle iii. 15 The skin of the Devon, notwithstanding his curly hair, is exceedingly mellow and elastic. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 836 [Young cattle.] To be a good thriver..the hair should feel mossy, and the touch of the skin mellow. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 390/2 Young cattle..are at 18 months old already of great size, with open horns, mellow hide [etc.]. 3. a. Of sound, music, a voice, etc.: warm-toned; soft and gentle; full, rich; without harshness. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > pleasantness of sound > [adjective] > gentle or not harsh smalleOE softc1230 gentle1548 softly1576 melting1585 mellow1650 dulcified1684 tender1709 silken1785 smooth1836 velvety1896 society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [adjective] > timbre or quality > mellow richc1400 mellow1650 pear-shaped1925 1650 R. Baron Pocula Castalia 112 Thy Muse, the goodliest of the Iove-born Quire, (From whose Syrenious voyce and mellow Lyre Orpheus might learn to tune the chiming Sphears). 1668 H. More Divine Dialogues (1713) iii. xxxvi. 284 How sweet and mellow, and yet how Majestick, is the Sound of it! 1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Twelfth Bk. Metamorphoses in Fables 427 The mellow Harp did not their Ears employ. 1722 A. Snape Let. 23 Apr. in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 244 His voice, since its breaking, is somewhat harsh, but I believe will grow mellower. 1747 W. Collins Odes 49 Pale Melancholy..Pour'd thro' the mellow Horn her pensive Soul. 1821 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto IV lxxxvii. 114 Who swore his voice was very rich and mellow. 1849 E. A. Poe in Sartain's Union Mag. Nov. 304/1 Hear the mellow wedding-bells, Golden bells! 1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xliii. 560 There were the usual night-sounds of the country..the barking of distant dogs, the mellow lowing of far-off kine—but these didn't seem to break the stillness. 1911 F. H. Burnett Secret Garden xxvi. 284 When they told her about the robin and the first flight of the young ones she laughed a motherly little mellow laugh in her throat. 1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 166/1 (advt.) Loyal is a new Revere model with..mellow Westminster chimes. 1993 M. Atwood in Quarry Mag. Apr. 132 ‘I need some help,’ he said, his voice bereft of the mellow cool tones that he affected to make him sound like a white drugged-out Rastah. b. Of colour, light, etc.: mild, soft, gentle, muted. Also, of an object or its appearance: soft in colour or visual texture, esp. as the result of age. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [adjective] > soft tender?a1513 soft1672 delicate1675 mellow1706 mellowy1816 serene1846 etherean1881 mellowed1889 muted1897 pastel1899 pastel1914 sedate1924 1706 J. Savage tr. R. de Piles Art of Painting 386 His Pencil was light and mellow. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. i. 28 The colouring of a picture was not mellow enough. 1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 314 The golden harvest, of a mellow brown. 1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion i. 48 The sun declining shot A slant and mellow radiance. View more context for this quotation 1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 93 Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro' the mellow shade. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. vi. 132 Pleasant jets of light were thrown on mellow oak and bright brass. 1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I Am ii Time had toned down every colour inside and outside the good old house to mellowest half tints. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables ii. 30 The sun had set some time since, but the landscape was still clear in the mellow afterlight. 1918 ‘R. West’ Return of Soldier i. 7 My eye followed the mellow brick of the garden wall through the trees. 1938 Amer. Home Oct. 70/2 (caption) Think of it for Thanksgiving time, when the whole family comes to dinner! This new cloth window shade is a mellow yellow that blends with almost any decorative background. 1952 J. Steinbeck East of Eden xvi. 177 The memory was mellow and warm and comfortable, now that it was all over. 1986 Artnews Sept. 55/3 Nigro's..colours are typically muted and harmonious, or turned up only at the point of giving his surfaces a mellow and uniform glow. 4. Phonetics. Of a consonantal sound: characterized by relatively low acoustic frequency and intensity, and a relative lack of constriction of the vocal tract at the point of articulation. Cf. strident adj. 1b. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > consonant > [adjective] > others harda1722 lunar1776 solar1776 cerebral1816 emphatic1855 mobile1861 vocular1884 movable1933 pre-final1934 prenasalized1937 mellow1956 1956 R. Jakobson & M. Halle Fund. of Lang. 31 Strident/mellow: acoustically—higher intensity noise vs. lower intensity noise; genetically—rough-edged vs. smooth-edged. 1956 R. Jakobson & M. Halle Fund. of Lang. 42 Mellow constrictives..do not appear in child language before the emergence of the first liquid. 1976 Word 27 220 /s/..[and] /f/..also embody the Strident vs. Mellow distinction and are both +Strident. 1991 D. Crystal Dict. Linguistics & Phonetics (ed. 3) (at cited word) Mellow sounds are defined articulatorily and acoustically, as those involving a less complex or ‘smooth-edged’ constriction at the point of articulation, and marked by acoustic energy of relatively low frequency and intensity, compared with strident sounds. Plosives and nasals are examples. II. Applied to persons. 5. Of a person, or a person's character, emotions, work, etc.: mature; softened by age and experience; having the gentleness or dignity of maturity. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > adult > [adjective] mucha1154 of (formerly also at, to) agec1300 perfect agec1384 full-growna1393 ripea1393 greatc1515 adult1531 maturate1556 mellowed1575 mellow1592 full-aged1596 mature1609 timed1611 grown-upa1640 adulted1645 grown1645 upgrown1667 matured1805 coming of age1858 the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > [adjective] > making > made softened1579 mollified1849 mellow1893 1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. i. sig. B2^v My yeeres were mellow, his but young and greene. 1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. B4^v Maister Greene-wit is not yet So mellow in yeares as he. 1640 W. Vaughan Church Militant 307 Mellow Age Shall by Degrees compose their Passions Rage. 1749 T. Smollett Regicide v. iv. 69 In florid Youth, or mellow Age, scarce fleets One Hour without its Care! 1855 M. Arnold To Republican Friend, contn. 13 The mellow glory of the Attic stage. 1893 G. Smith United States 63 He [sc. Benjamin Franklin] was an offspring of New England Puritanism grown mellow. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxviii. 426 As Mrs. Lynde told her Thomas that night. ‘Marilla Cuthbert has got mellow. That's what.’ 1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 65/2 That first love grown mellow and richer for the joy and suffering of the years. 1993 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. a1/3 Is this mellow politician the same man whom hard-edged veterans of city politics dismissed in 1989 as not ready for prime time? 6. a. Drunk, now esp. mildly and pleasantly so; good-humoured or expansive as a result of drinking. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk merrya1382 semi-bousyc1460 pipe merry1542 totty1570 tipsy1577 martin-drunk1592 pleasant1596 mellow1611 tip-merry1612 flustered1615 lusticka1616 well to live1619 jolly1652 happy1662 hazy1673 top-heavy1687 hearty1695 half-seas-over1699 oiled1701 mellowish1703 half channelled over1709 drunkish1710 half-and-half1718 touched1722 uppisha1726 tosie1727 bosky1730 funny1751 fairish1756 cherry-merry1769 in suds1770 muddy1776 glorious1790 groggified1796 well-corned1800 fresh1804 to be mops and brooms1814 foggy1816 how-come-ye-so1816 screwy1820 off the nail1821 on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821 swipey1821 muggy1822 rosy1823 snuffy1823 spreeish1825 elevated1827 up a stump1829 half-cockedc1830 tightish1830 tipsified1830 half shaved1834 screwed1837 half-shot1838 squizzed1845 drinky1846 a sheet in the wind1862 tight1868 toppy1885 tiddly1905 oiled-up1918 bonkers1943 sloshed1946 tiddled1956 hickey- 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Enyvrer S'enyvrer, to be drunke, or in drinke; to be mellow, tipled, flusht, ouerseene. 1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Journall (new ed.) iii. sig. M8 For the world, I would not prize her,... Had she in her no good fellow That would drinke till he grew mellow. 1706 tr. H. Schopperus Crafty Courtier ii. i. 167 And none till mellow from their Liquor shrunk, But wond'rous politick they grew, and drunk. 1775 R. B. Sheridan Songs Duenna ii. 12 The hateful fellow, That's crabbed when he's mellow. 1795 S. Rowson Volunteers 14 I'll spend the night in gaming drinking nor e'er go home till mellow. 1847 H. Melville Omoo lxxx. 309 Certain good fellows..finally dragged him away to an illicit vendor of spirits, in whose house the party got gloriously mellow. 1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxi. 174 Now the master, mellow almost to the verge of geniality,..began to draw a map of America on the blackboard, to exercise the geography class upon. 1895 W. C. Scully Kafir Stories 193 The beer was not in sufficient quantities to cause intoxication, but nevertheless all were somewhat mellow when the sun went down. 1929 Travel Jan. 18/1 ‘Treasure Island’ tells how the old sea-dog at the ‘Admiral Benbow’, when mellow with grog, used to prate of the Dry Tortugas..and the Spanish Main. 1946 W. S. Maugham Then & Now xvi. 90 Bartolomeo..was, if not drunk, at least mellow. 1985 E. Leonard Glitz xvii. 144 I get mellow when I drink. b. slang (chiefly U.S.). Of a person: pleasantly euphoric or relaxed as a result of taking drugs. Of the effect of a drug: mildly intoxicating, inducing a pleasant euphoria. ΚΠ 1946 M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe Really Blues (Gloss.) 376 Mellow, feeling good, especially after smoking marihuana. 1971 E. E. Landy Underground Dict. 130 Mellow,..describes feeling one has just as one begins to feel the effects of a drug. 1992 Independent 26 Sept. 3/6 Mark explained that 25 mushrooms would give someone not used to them a ‘mellow hit’; regulars take 50-plus and Mark remembers when he ate 500. 7. a. Good-humoured, genial, jovial; relaxed and easy-going. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective] blithe971 gladOE blithemod1065 jollya1350 well begonea1425 well-cheered1435 hearty1440 cheery1448 cheerfula1477 chereful1486 unsweera1500 cheerly1565 riant1567 hilaire1575 light-spirited1581 undistempered1589 comfortablea1593 well-humoured1600 good-humoured1604 rident1609 hoddy1664 chicket1682 mellow1711 blithesome1724 in spirits1747 winsome1787 hilarious1823 resilient1830 blithe-hearted1848 cheero1903 bucked1907 cheerio1918 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 68. ¶3 In all thy Humours, whether grave or mellow. 1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 7 The Baronet was..as merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound. 1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant II. viii. 234 When..their glasses were filled with..port, Mowbray grew a trifle mellower in mood. 1944 ‘Palinurus’ Unquiet Grave ii. 38 There is always a raw and intolerant nation eager to destroy the tolerant and mellow. 1976 Honolulu Star-Bull. 21 Dec. e1/5 The Broiler is considered one of the mellowest nightclubs in town because it caters to a younger, college-age clientele that tends to be less rowdy. 1994 Kindred Spirit (Devon, U.K.) Autumn 80/3 (advt.) Spontaneous, mellow, happy 40s woman. b. slang (originally and chiefly Jazz and among African Americans). Pleasing or satisfying in any respect; excellent; skilful. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] faireOE bremea1000 goodlyOE goodfulc1275 noblec1300 pricec1300 specialc1325 gentlec1330 fine?c1335 singulara1340 thrivena1350 thriven and throa1350 gaya1375 properc1380 before-passinga1382 daintiful1393 principala1398 gradelya1400 burlyc1400 daintyc1400 thrivingc1400 voundec1400 virtuousc1425 hathelc1440 curiousc1475 singlerc1500 beautiful1502 rare?a1534 gallant1539 eximious1547 jolly1548 egregious?c1550 jellyc1560 goodlike1562 brawc1565 of worth1576 brave?1577 surprising1580 finger-licking1584 admirablea1586 excellinga1586 ambrosial1598 sublimated1603 excellent1604 valiant1604 fabulous1609 pure1609 starryc1610 topgallant1613 lovely1614 soaringa1616 twanging1616 preclarent1623 primea1637 prestantious1638 splendid1644 sterling1647 licking1648 spankinga1666 rattling1690 tearing1693 famous1695 capital1713 yrare1737 pure and —1742 daisy1757 immense1762 elegant1764 super-extra1774 trimming1778 grand1781 gallows1789 budgeree1793 crack1793 dandy1794 first rate1799 smick-smack1802 severe1805 neat1806 swell1810 stamming1814 divine1818 great1818 slap-up1823 slapping1825 high-grade1826 supernacular1828 heavenly1831 jam-up1832 slick1833 rip-roaring1834 boss1836 lummy1838 flash1840 slap1840 tall1840 high-graded1841 awful1843 way up1843 exalting1844 hot1845 ripsnorting1846 clipping1848 stupendous1848 stunning1849 raving1850 shrewd1851 jammy1853 slashing1854 rip-staving1856 ripping1858 screaming1859 up to dick1863 nifty1865 premier cru1866 slap-bang1866 clinking1868 marvellous1868 rorty1868 terrific1871 spiffing1872 all wool and a yard wide1882 gorgeous1883 nailing1883 stellar1883 gaudy1884 fizzing1885 réussi1885 ding-dong1887 jim-dandy1888 extra-special1889 yum-yum1890 out of sight1891 outasight1893 smooth1893 corking1895 large1895 super1895 hot dog1896 to die for1898 yummy1899 deevy1900 peachy1900 hi1901 v.g.1901 v.h.c.1901 divvy1903 doozy1903 game ball1905 goodo1905 bosker1906 crackerjack1910 smashinga1911 jake1914 keen1914 posh1914 bobby-dazzling1915 juicy1916 pie on1916 jakeloo1919 snodger1919 whizz-bang1920 wicked1920 four-star1921 wow1921 Rolls-Royce1922 whizz-bang1922 wizard1922 barry1923 nummy1923 ripe1923 shrieking1926 crazy1927 righteous1930 marvy1932 cool1933 plenty1933 brahmaa1935 smoking1934 solid1935 mellow1936 groovy1937 tough1937 bottler1938 fantastic1938 readyc1938 ridge1938 super-duper1938 extraordinaire1940 rumpty1940 sharp1940 dodger1941 grouse1941 perfecto1941 pipperoo1945 real gone1946 bosting1947 supersonic1947 whizzo1948 neato1951 peachy-keen1951 ridgey-dite1953 ridgy-didge1953 top1953 whizzing1953 badass1955 wild1955 belting1956 magic1956 bitching1957 swinging1958 ridiculous1959 a treat1959 fab1961 bad-assed1962 uptight1962 diggish1963 cracker1964 marv1964 radical1964 bakgat1965 unreal1965 pearly1966 together1968 safe1970 bad1971 brilliant1971 fabby1971 schmick1972 butt-kicking1973 ripper1973 Tiffany1973 bodacious1976 rad1976 kif1978 awesome1979 death1979 killer1979 fly1980 shiok1980 stonking1980 brill1981 dope1981 to die1982 mint1982 epic1983 kicking1983 fabbo1984 mega1985 ill1986 posho1989 pukka1991 lovely jubbly1992 awesomesauce2001 nang2002 bess2006 amazeballs2009 boasty2009 daebak2009 beaut2013 1936 D. Burley in Chicago Defender 9 May 23/5 Milk-fed, term applied to real ‘mellow chicks’. 1938 C. Calloway Hi De Ho 16 Mellow, all right, fine. 1942 Z. N. Hurston in Amer. Mercury July 89 If they's white, they's right! If they's yellow, they's mellow! If they's brown, they can stick around. 1944 D. Burley Orig. Handbk. Harlem Jive 70 The whole town's copping the mellow jive. 1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 29/1 Mellow fellow, a satisfactory person. Mellow mouse, attractive female. 1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 336 Mellow,..skillful; sincere, heart-felt; said of a jazz performance. 1979 N. Mailer Executioner's Song (1980) ii. viii. 627 ‘What do you think of the suicide now?’ ‘Nonviolent,’ Dennis said, ‘Really mellow. Like Romeo and Juliet, they took a poison.’ 1991 A. Martin Walking on Water (1992) iv. 15 ‘This is a real mellow place,’ he told me, ‘I know you're going to have a great time here.’ Compounds C1. Chiefly parasynthetic or with adverbial force † mellow-breathing adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1761 F. Fawkes Orig. Poems 26 The merry pipe, the mellow-breathing flute. mellow-coloured adj. ΚΠ 1895 ‘C. Holland’ My Japanese Wife 70 Countless numbers of paper lanterns, which throw a mellow-coloured radiance on the faces of the passers-by. 2000 Bath Chron. (Nexis) 8 Jan. 2 Mellow coloured cottages line the route to the Market Cross. † mellow-deep adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1684 J. Smith Profit & Pleasure United x. 125 The best Land to set this Plant on, must be a Mellow-deep Mold, compounded of Sand, clay, and good Earth. 1832 Ld. Tennyson Eleänore in Poems (new ed.) 28 A sweep Of richest pauses, evermore Drawn from each other mellow-deep. mellow-eyed adj. ΚΠ 1863 W. H. Russell My Diary North & South 168 Mr Howell Cobb, a fat, double-chinned, mellow-eyed man, rapped with his hammer on the desk. 1997 Guardian (Nexis) 11 Oct. 12 Big, stoical, mellow-eyed David Seaman..had just sat down when the first question hit him. mellow-lighted adj. ΚΠ 1892 W. Pater in New Rev. June 714 The melodious, mellow-lighted space. † mellow-mouthed adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (new ed.) v. 182 A preacher,..knowing his auditours wallowed in sinne, ought not with..mellow-mouthed words tickle their eares. mellow-ripe adj. ΚΠ 1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Dec. 107 Ere they were halfe mellow ripe. 1806 J. W. Croker Amazoniad ii. iv. 21 Tho' vig'rous sage, and mellow ripe, tho' fresh, And fat, as if she fed on human flesh. 1891 A. J. Munby Too Late in Vestigia Retrorsum 123 And I grew sleek with gold, And mellow-ripe in mind. † mellow-tasted adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1730 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons 159 The mellow-tasted Burgundy. mellow-tempered adj. ΚΠ 1906 N.E.D. at Mellow Mellow-tempered. 1999 Idaho Statesman (Nexis) 9 Sept. 1 e These mellow-tempered bees are for sale on [the] Internet. mellow-toned adj. ΚΠ 1809 Examiner 28 May 348/2 The light silver sky strongly relieves from the light tinted offscape, deep and mellow-toned foreground. 1873 E. J. Brennan Witch of Nemi 85 Mellow-toned laughter. 1991 Gramophone Jan. 1390/3 Licad's mellow-toned, true-to-life disc. C2. mellow bug n. [with reference to the apple-like odour of the secretion produced by certain whirligig beetles] U.S. = whirligig n. 4. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Adephaga (carnivorous beetles) > Hydradephaga (aquatic) > member of family Gyrinidae (whirligig) whirligig1713 cramp-spider1721 whirlwig1816 weaver1864 mellow bug1894 gyrinid1925 1894 J. C. Harris Little Mr. Thimblefinger xii. 140 Why, I expect it is a mellow bug... I used to catch them when I was a girl and put them in my handkerchief. They smell just like a ripe apple. 1972 L. A. Swan & C. S. Papp Common Insects N. Amer. 351 Gyrinids exude a milky secretion..for which they have been given such names as ‘apple smellers’ and ‘mallow bugs’. mellow yellow n. slang (chiefly U.S.) (a) n. banana peel dried for smoking as a narcotic (see quot. 1984); (b) adj. intoxicated from smoking this. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > miscellaneous narcotic drugs from plants henbane?a1425 metel1528 datura1598 carpese1605 cabbage bark1777 majoun1780 lettuce opium1799 stramonium1802 niopo1821 tea oil1837 khat1858 pituri1861 steppe rue1881 ololiuqui1894 toloache1894 yopo1916 mellow yellow1966 1966 ‘Donovan’ Mellow Yellow (song) 6 Elecatrical [sic] banana, is gonna be a sudden craze; Electrical banana is bound to be the very next phase; They call me Mellow Yellow. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. (Mag.) 28/3 So I offered him—grass, acid, speed, magic—mushrooms, DMT, hash, and mellow yellow. 1968 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3 ii. 34 Mellow yellow, intoxicated from smoking a banana peel. 1984 E. L. Abel Dict. Drug Abuse Terms 102 Mellow Yellow, 1960s hoax. Inside scrapings from banana skins that were baked, then smoked, allegedly producing effects akin to marihuana. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mellowv. Brit. /ˈmɛləʊ/, U.S. /ˈmɛloʊ/ Forms: 1500s mellowe, 1500s melow, 1500s melowe, 1500s– mellow, 1600s meloe. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mellow adj. Etymology: < mellow adj. Compare earlier mellowing n. 1. a. transitive. To ripen or soften (fruit); to mature (wine, etc.); to render (a food or its flavour) milder, sweeter, or richer; to free from harshness or acidity. Also figurative.In early use sometimes applied to persons in figurative context: cf. sense 3. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [verb (transitive)] > mellow or mature mellow1575 the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparing fruit and vegetables > prepare fruit and vegetables [verb (transitive)] > ripen fruit mellow1575 1575 G. Gascoigne Councell to Withipoll in Posies 155 Those sunnes do mellowe men so fast As most that trauayle come home very ripe. a1592 R. Greene Hist. Orlando Furioso (1594) sig. G^v Mee thinks I feele how Cinthya..meloweth those desires Which phrensies scares had ripened in my head. 1630 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 317 All this mellows me for heaven. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 94 Winter Fruits are mellow'd by the Frost. View more context for this quotation 1701 J. Addison Let. from Italy 132 On foreign mountains may the Sun refine The Grape's soft juice, and mellow it to wine. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison V. xiii. 74 Yours is Love mellowed into Friendship. 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 244 Age,..As time improves the grape's authentic juice, Mellows and makes the speech more fit for use. 1818 R. Southey Let. to H. H. Southey II. 115 Generous minds and tempers..are mellowed, like wine, as they grow older. 1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold I. iii. v. 218 The year..had mellowed the fruits of the earth. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 44 Drink..will mellow the sourness of age. 1911 J. Muir My First Summer in Sierra 108 Petting and coaxing and nursing the savory mess,—well oiled and mellowed with bacon boiled into the heart of it. 1937 Life 26 July 88/1 (advt.) What happens in fine wines happens in tobacco—Aging mellows and enhances flavor. 1991 Chile Pepper 5 ii. 40 The chiles are first added to the oil, then they are mellowed by coconut. b. intransitive. Of fruit, wine, cheese, etc.: to ripen or mature. Hence, of any food or its flavour: to become milder, sweeter, or richer. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > [verb (intransitive)] > mellow mellow1597 the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [verb (intransitive)] > mellow or mature marry1568 mellow1737 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 1 So now prosperitie begins to mellow And drop into the rotten mouth of Death. View more context for this quotation a1631 J. Donne On Himself 6 Till death us lay To ripe and mellow here we are stuborne Clay. 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 297 From a dark-greene, [bananas] mellow into a flaming yellow. 1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner Pref. sig. Aiv Exactly when to gather both those which ripen on the Tree, and those which attain not their full ripeness there, but must be laid up to mellow in the House. 1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 183 A Wine..mellowing and improving as it is kept. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 90 Their juices will mellow by mingling together. 1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. I. i. 21 These were often hung in the smoke of a chimney, at some distance above the fire, in order to mellow. 1856 J. G. Whittier Ranger in Panorama 138 Where the purple beach-plum mellows. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 74 Unripe fruit is bitter oft i' the mouth, Yet mellows with the months. 1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer Odyssey iii A cup of wine which had mellowed eleven years in its jar. 1971 Sunday Times 28 Mar. (Colour Suppl.) 36/1 Lancashire. When young it is slightly sharp and soft enough to spread, but it mellows with age. 1988 Yankee Mar. 99/1 Set aside to allow the flavors to mellow at room temperature. 2. a. transitive. To make (soil) soft and loamy; to render (land) suitable for cultivation. Now English regional. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > soil formation > [verb (transitive)] > form specific type of soil clod1530 mellow1577 podzolize1932 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 23^v The land it selfe is also called grosse and rawe, that is not well mellowed. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 115 A small streame, which..meloes most of the Gardens and Groues. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry iv. 44 Wind, Sun and Dews, all which sweeten and mellow the Land very much. 1736 Compl. Family-piece iii. 454 Fallow your Wheat Land, which will kill the Weeds, and mellow the Ground. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 288 Their surfaces soon become mellowed by the action of the air. 1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) at Sad Land is sad when the frosts of winter have not mellowed it. b. intransitive. Of soil: to become soft and loamy. Now English regional. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > soil formation > [verb (intransitive)] > form specific type of soil clod1530 mellow1815 podzolize1932 solodize1934 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 184 The earth..should have sufficient time to mellow and ferment. 1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby To ‘lie fauf’ as when the soil is left to mellow. 1895 Tablet 9 Nov. 739 Then the soil will have mellowed sufficiently to bear wheat and potatoes. 3. a. transitive. To soften, to subdue or tone down, to free from harshness or crudity. Also: to make (a person) softer or more tolerant in nature; to make milder or gentler as the result of age and experience. to mellow out of: to remove (something) from (a person or thing) by a process of softening or toning down. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (transitive)] > purify or refine slick1340 filec1400 polishc1400 burnish1526 polite1535 extirpate1548 purify1548 soften1579 purgea1582 refine1592 mellow1593 civilize1596 rarefy1600 incivilize1603 sublimate1624 alembicate1627 chastise1627 sublime1631 calcine1635 gentilize1635 ennoble1636 subtilize1638 deconcoct1655 sublimizea1729 smooth1762 absterge1817 decrassify1855 sandpaper1890 the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > treat gently [verb (transitive)] > make gentle or mild soft?c1225 mild1340 melta1382 softenc1410 mollifya1450 amollish1474 amolify1483 ameeka1500 mellow1593 dulcify1647 the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [verb (transitive)] > tone down dilute1665 mellow1694 break1753 sadden1787 sober1843 degrade1844 disintensify1884 scumble1905 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 16 b As Archesilaus ouer-melodied, and too-much melowed and sugred with sweet tunes,..caused his eares to be new relished with harsh sower and vnsauory sounds. 1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. P2 The Page was easily mellowd with his attractiue eloquence. 1694 J. Dryden To Sir G. Kneller in Ann. Miscellany 99 Time shall..Mellow your Colours. 1743 R. Blair Grave 8 The sooty Black-bird Mellow'd his Pipe, and soften'd ev'ry Note. 1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. III. xlvii. 36 In order to mellow these humours. 1786 S. Rogers Sailor 8 Its colours mellow'd, not impair'd, by time. 1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 67 At first the sounds, by distance tame, Mellowed along the waters came. 1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe ii. 48 Lichens mellow the scarred masses of fallen rock. 1887 G. Saintsbury Jeffrey in Ess. Eng. Lit. (1891) 102 The priggishness which he showed early, and never entirely lost, till fame, prosperity, and the approach of old age mellowed it out of him. 1902 A. Thomson Lauder & Lauderdale x. 102 The King..visited him..to endeavour by personal interview to mellow his manners. 1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage cvi. 557 Time had mellowed the marble to the colour of honey. 1942 E. Bowen Bowen's Court iv. 66 Age may have mellowed him, for he is said to have made a benevolent grandfather. 1974 F. Forsyth Dogs of War (1975) ii. xviii. 305 The sun was blistering, but mellowed by a light wind. 1986 Country Quest July 26/1 Offa's Dyke..a barely discernible mound with the racial quarrels it symbolises long ago mellowed out of the memory. b. intransitive. To soften; to become mild, gentle, toned down, or subdued; to become free from harshness. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [verb (intransitive)] > tone down mellow1737 sober1879 the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (intransitive)] > become purified or refined sublime1624 polish1712 mellow1737 bleach1799 purify1805 sublimate1850 the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > be mild, gentle, or tolerant [verb (intransitive)] > become melta1225 to-melta1240 mollifya1530 relaxate1598 relax1688 mellow1737 1737 M. Green Spleen 711 Unhurt by sickness' blasting rage And slowly mellowing in age. 1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) II. v. 4 The impetuosity of his temper, when he came to act with his equals, insensibly abated..and mellowed into a cordial soldierly frankness. 1823 Ld. Byron Island ii. xv. 36 The broad sun set, but not with lingering sweep, As in the North he mellows o'er the deep. 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xi. 297 The very furniture of the room seemed to mellow..in its tone. 1861 J. Brown Horæ Subsecivæ 2nd Ser. II. 293 His character mellowed and toned down in his later years. 1902 A. E. W. Mason Four Feathers xvii. 165 The sunlight mellowed and reddened. 1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 34/2 (advt.) Linoleum so treated mellows and gets better looking. It will wear for years and years. 1976 Evening Advertiser (Swindon) 31 Dec. 8/1 The ‘Terrible Twins’ of yesteryear, Mr Jack Jones, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers, and Mr. Hugh Scanlon, president of the Engineering Workers, have mellowed. 1986 T. O. Echewa Crippled Dancer ii. i. 19 His pidgin English had mellowed into a mellifluous, cosmopolitan flavour. 4. a. transitive. To intoxicate; to make pleasantly drunk. Usually in passive. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (transitive)] > make drunk fordrenchc1000 indrunkena1300 mazec1390 distemper1491 whittle1530 swill1548 inebriate1555 disguise1560 intoxicatea1566 tipple1566 overtake1577 betipple1581 seethe1599 fuddlec1600 fox1611 wound1613 cupa1616 fuzzle1621 to gild overa1625 sousea1625 tip1637 tosticate1650 drunkify1664 muddle1668 tipsy1673 sop1682 fuzz1685 confound1705 mellowa1761 prime1788 lush1821 soak1826 touch1833 rosin1877 befuddle1887 slew1888 lush1927 wipe1972 a1761 J. Cawthorn Poems (1771) 189 Gods..will, like mortals, swear, and hector, When mellow'd with a cup of nectar. 1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 13 When he thought him sufficiently mellowed, he proposed to him to quit the service of his new employers. 1855 Ld. Tennyson Brook in Maud & Other Poems 109 There he mellow'd all his heart with ale. 1937 J. P. Marquand Late George Apley v. 51 The Irish conductor in the Brookline car, slightly mellowed by potations. 1997 P. Melville Ventriloquist's Tale (1998) i. 66 In slow time, mellowed by rum..this prestigious and dignified assembly of parliamentarians discussed the entire range of life's topics. b. intransitive. colloquial (originally U.S.). With out. To become relaxed, esp. under the influence of a drug. Also (occasionally) transitive (reflexive). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > calmness > become composed or calm [verb (intransitive)] saughtelc1400 breathe1485 pacify1509 settle1591 compose1663 to breathe freely (also easy, easily)1695 tranquillize1748 cool1836 simmer down1842 calm1877 relax1907 to cool it1952 to Zen out1968 mellow1974 to take a chill pill1981 chillax1994 the mind > emotion > calmness > compose or make calm [verb (transitive)] softa1225 stilla1325 coolc1330 accoya1375 appeasec1374 attemperc1386 lullc1386 quieta1398 peasea1400 amesec1400 assuagec1400 mesec1400 soberc1430 modify?a1439 establish1477 establish1477 pacify1484 pacify1515 unbrace?1526 settle1530 steady1530 allay1550 calm1559 compromitc1574 restore1582 recollect1587 serenize1598 smooth1604 compose1607 recompose1611 becalm1613 besoothe1614 unprovokea1616 halcyon1616 unstrain1616 leniate1622 tranquillize1623 unperplexa1631 belull1631 sedate1646 unmaze1647 assopiatea1649 serenate1654 serene1654 tranquillify1683 soothe1697 unalarm1722 reserene1755 quietize1791 peacify1845 quieten1853 conjure1856 peace1864 disfever1880 patise1891 de-tension1961 mellow1974 the mind > emotion > calmness > compose oneself [verb (reflexive)] stilla1325 spakea1400 amesec1400 soft?a1500 stay1537 recollect1595 collect1602 compose1607 recompose1611 to reassume oneself1635 relax1685 summon1745 mellow1974 centre1980 the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > be under influence of drugs [verb (intransitive)] > relax under influence of drug mellow1974 the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > have intoxicating effect on [verb (transitive)] > make relaxed mellow1974 the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > be under influence of drugs [verb (reflexive)] > relax under influence of drug mellow1974 1974 Rolling Stone 14 Feb. 38/1 Critics..were saying he'd mellowed out..‘drained the venom from his voice’. 1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) ix. 25/2 How about we all smoke a little dope and mellow out, okay? 1985 R. Silverberg Tom O'Bedlam (1986) v. iii. 178 A tranquilizer whenever you felt the need to mellow yourself out. 2000 Toronto Star (Nexis) 8 Feb. c3/6 Anger comes out when you least expect it. Mellow out and think through a decision carefully. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹1925n.²1967n.³1977adj.1440v.1575
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mellown.1

mellown.2

mellown.3

mellowadj.

Compounds

mellowv.

mellown.¹

mellown.²

mellown.³