mellifluous

Meaningflowing like honey

Common meaning: sweet and smooth to hear

mellhoneyLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1127 · scan
fluto flowLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 763 · scan
ousadjective ending: full of, having

‘honey’ + ‘to flow’ → mellifluous

Journey through time

mell — Latin mel, mellis “honey” (path traced)
flu — Latin fluō, flūxī, flūxum “to flow” (path traced)

Latinmel, mellis + fluō, flūxī, flūxum‘honey + to flow’
Englishmellifluous‘sweet and smooth to hear’ · today

flu also in: flux fluid fluent affluent influence

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
US IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.

Origin: Built on Latin mel ‘honey’ + Latin fluō ‘to flow’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry fluō, p. 763 · dictionary scan

Roots

fluō, flūxī, flūxum Latin “to flow”
mel, mellis Latin “honey”

Related words

affluence affluent fluent fluid flux influence superfluous

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app