LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

mēlō

mēlō m (genitive mēlōnis)

Meaning

  1. Late Latinmelon, muskmelon
    Nunc melones serendi rarius: distent inter se semina pedibus duobus, locis subactis, vel pastinatis, maxime arenis.Now melons are to be sown more rarely: let the seeds be two feet distant, in places well wrought and pastinated, especially in sandy soils.4th c./5th c. AD, Palladius, Opus agriculturae 4.9.5

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemēlōmēlōnēs
genitivemēlōnismēlōnum
dativemēlōnīmēlōnibus
accusativemēlōnemmēlōnēs
ablativemēlōnemēlōnibus
vocativemēlōmēlōnēs

Mēlo, ōnis, m., old Latin name for the Nile: Melo nomine alio Nilus vocatur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 124 Müll.; cf. id. p. 7 and p. 18; Serv. Verg. G. 4, 291:
I. Melonis alba filia, i. e. the paper-reed growing in the Nile, Aus. Epist. 4, 75.
mēlo, ōnis, m., = μῆλον,
I. an apple-shaped melon, for melopepo, Pall. 4, 9, 6; Vop. Carin. 17.

Origins

  1. Ancient Greek μῆλον(mêlon)
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pekʷ-
  3. Latinmēlō

Proto-Indo-European *pékʷetider. Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn) Koine Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn)bor. Latin mēlopepō Latin melo Shortening of mēlopepō, borrowed from Koine Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn). Attested since about late 4th century CE, since Palladius and the author(s) of Historia Augusta.

Descendants
  • Catalanmeló
  • Englishmelonfrom Old French melon
  • Frenchmelonfrom Old French melon
  • Italianmelone
  • GermanMelonefrom Italian melone
  • Italianmellone
  • Occitanmelon
  • Portuguesemelão
  • Spanishmelón
  • Aragonesemelón

Quick answers

What does mēlō mean in Latin?
mēlō, a noun, means “melon, muskmelon”.
What is the genitive of mēlō?
The genitive singular is mēlōnis. mēlō is masculine, third declension.
Where does mēlō come from?
Ancient Greek μῆλον (mêlon) → Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- → Latin mēlō.