medlar - When I was a boy I was told that a pear tree belonging to neighbor was a medlar pear. They were small and hard, though fairly sweet. In colonial times pear trees were valued to make a beverage called "perry", but I've never heard of it being made at
all recently. I guess the improvement in apples made cider preferable. I had one ancestor
whose total inheritance was a barrel of cider, valuable enough to be mentioned in his
father's will..
But my dictionary makes no mention of medlar as a pear. I found a site about a fruit so
named, which I have never seen nor heard of before:
http://www.southmeadowfruitgardens.com/FeaturedFruitTrees.htmlmeek - "The meek shall inherit the earth" The etymology surprised me:
meek 7mck8
adj.
5ME meke (earlier meoc) < ON miukr, pliant, gentle < IE base *meug3, *meuk3, to slip, slippery, slimy > MUCK, L mucus, Gr myxa6
1 patient and mild; not inclined to anger or resentment
2 too submissive; easily imposed on; spineless; spiritless
3 [Obs.] gentle or kind
meek$ly
adv.
megrim - a word I have not seen nor heard for along time. The spelling bee gives only the third definition found in the dictionary
megrim 7mc4grim8
n.
5LME migreime < OFr migraine: see MIGRAINE6
1 obs. var. of MIGRAINE
2 [Archaic] a whim, fancy, or fad
3 [pl.] [Rare] low spirits; the blues
melangeur - spelling bee list does not give accent aigu. on first "e". English equivalent would be "mixer".
m=lange
n.
5Fr < mFler, to mix: see MEDDLE6 a mixture or medley; hodgepodge
melanin
n.
5MELAN3 + 3IN16 a brownish-black pigment found in skin, hair, and other animal or plant tissues
melanchroi - a coinage by an anthropoloogist
"the men whom I have termed Melanchroi, or dark whites."
melic 7mel4ik8
adj.
5L melicus < Gr melikos < melos, song, musical member, orig., limb < IE base *mel3, a limb > Cornish mel, a knuckle6
1 of song or poetry, esp. early Greek lyric poetry
2 meant to be sung; lyric
OP
