January 25, 2004, 17:36
wordnerdEtymology of "mellifluous"
Back on
November 27 and 28 we noted that there are two separate but similar-appearing roots:
mel-/mell-/melis- = honey and
melos = song. We also talked about the word
mellifluous, meaning "
pleasing to the ear".
Which root does
mellifluous come from? Granted that the
fluous part means "flowing", does the rest come from "honey" or from "song"? That is, does it literally mean "flowing like honey" or "flowing like song"?
The standard etymology sources (
AHD;
Websters;
etym-on-line) agree that the root here is "honey".
But on what basis do they conclude this? I'm suspicious. Since
mellifluous describes
sounds, it would seem far more likely to be based on "song" rather than "honey".
[This message was edited by wordnerd on Sun Jan 25th, 2004 at 19:52.]
January 26, 2004, 00:51
aputThe Greek 'song' root has only one /l/ (
mell- means 'intend'), whereas the Latin 'honey' root has two /l/'s (reduced to one in final position in the nom.sg.). So
melli- can only mean 'honey-' in compounds.
January 26, 2004, 02:55
arnieI agree with aput.
Mellifluous means "honeyed" "smooth", and so on. "Song" has no connection.