Melissa
fem. proper name, from Latin, from Greek (Ionic) melissa (Attic melitta) "honeybee," also "one of the priestesses of Delphi," from meli, melitos "honey," from PIE *melit-ya, suffixed form of root *melit- "honey."
Entries linking to Melissa
fem. given name, invented by Philip Sidney in "Arcadia," published in the 1590s; it is presumed to have been coined from Greek pan- "all" (before a labial pam-; see pan-) + meli "honey" (also the first element in Melissa; from PIE *melit-ya, suffixed form of root *melit- "honey") with the sense "all-sweetness," but this is conjecture. It was boosted by Samuel Richardson's novel "Pamela" (1741) but did not become popular until the 1920s; it was a top-20 name for girls born in the U.S. from 1947 to 1968.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "honey."
It forms all or part of: caramel; marmalade; Melissa; mellifluous; mildew; molasses; mousse.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek meli, Latin mel "honey; sweetness;" Albanian mjal' "honey;" Old Irish mil "honey," Irish milis "sweet;" Old English mildeaw "nectar," milisc "honeyed, sweet;" Old High German milsken "to sweeten;" Gothic miliþ "honey."
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updated on December 20, 2018
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*melg-
meliorate
melioration
meliorism
melisma
Melissa
*melit-
mell
mellifluent
mellifluous
Mellotron