mellow

 
Pronunciation: /ˈmɛləʊ/

adjective

  • 1(especially of a sound, flavour, or colour) pleasantly smooth or soft; free from harshness: she was hypnotized by the mellow tone of his voice slow cooking gives the dish a sweet, mellow flavour
  • (of wine) well-matured and smooth: a mellow, richly flavoured Shiraz
  • archaic (of fruit) ripe, sweet, and juicy: one dish of mellow apples
  • 2(of a person’s character) tempered by maturity or experience: a more mellow personality
  • relaxed and good-humoured: Jean-Claude was feeling mellow
  • 3 informal relaxed and cheerful through being slightly drunk: everybody got very mellow and slept well
  • 4(of earth) rich and loamy: to most farmers, soil has good tilth when it is mellow and granular and crumbles easily in the hand

verb

  • make or become mellow: [with object]: even a warm sun could not mellow the North Sea breeze [no object]: fuller-flavoured whiskies mellow with wood maturation
  • [no object] (mellow out) informal relax and enjoy oneself: I need to mellow out, I need to calm down

Derivatives

mellowly

adverb

mellowness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'ripe, sweet, and juicy'): perhaps from attributive use of Old English melu, melw- (see meal2). The verb dates from the late 16th century