mellifluous

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“
A.D.) are replete with concatenations of voces magicae, some with up to a hundred letters, such as the more mellifluous: melibou melibau melibaubau, touchar souchar, nennana sennana, samousoum souma soume soumeia meisouat srouat ... rouat, or the cacophonous: chuchbachuch bauachuch bakaxichuch bazabachuch bachaxichuch bazetophoth bainchoooch.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Flowing with sweetness or honey.
  2. adjective Smooth and sweet: "polite and cordial, with a mellifluous, well-educated voice” (H.W. Crocker III).

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples

  • The Russian language is indeed more mellifluous, more lingering, more caressing, fuller of sighs than the Polish. —  Life of Chopin
  • Yet they found the language, as written and spoken by him, full of harmony -- rich, mellifluous, and sonorous. —  Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist
  • The young wife turned the radio to the local rock station and the Volvo was filled with the mellifluous sounds of a Ronald McDonald clone hawking the opening of three new San Antonio area burger Xanadus. —  The Time of the Transference
  • "I'll give that sanctimonious, mellifluous, hyperbolic, paternalistic, star-making, genius-devouring Moloch of an old -" —  The Space Merchants
  • A.D.) are replete with concatenations of voces magicae, some with up to a hundred letters, such as the more mellifluous: melibou melibau melibaubau, touchar souchar, nennana sennana, samousoum souma soume soumeia meisouat srouat ... rouat, or the cacophonous: chuchbachuch bauachuch bakaxichuch bazabachuch bachaxichuch bazetophoth bainchoooch. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XIX No 1
 

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Mellifluous has been looked up 1305 times, favorited 42 times, listed 316 times, and commented on 23 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Late Latin mellifluus : Latin mel, mell-, honey; see melit- in Indo-European roots + Latin -fluus, flowing; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = Old French mellifleux, also melliflu, melleflu, French melliflue = Spanish melífluo = Portuguese Italian mellifluo, from Late Latin mellifluus, flowing with honey, from Latin mel (mell-), honey, + fluere, flow.
 

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/mɛˈlɪfluəs/
by American Heritage

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