mulceō

Meaning

1. poeticto stroke, graze, touch lightly or gently
   Fēcerat et viridī fētam Māvortis in antrō prōcubuisse lupam, geminōs huic ūbera circum lūdere pendentīs puerōs et lambere mātrem impavidōs, illam teretī cervīce reflexāHe also made the she-wolf, daughter of Mars, in a green cave to have lain down, around her teats twin boys to play hanging and to lick the mother fearless, her to, with shapely neck bent back, stroke them by turn and shape their bodies with the tongue.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 8.630–634
   Vēr erat aeternum, placidīque tepentibus aurīsThe spring was everlasting, and, with warm breezes, the pleasant zephyrs touched the flowers born without seeds.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 1.107–108
2. poeticto rub, apply an ointment
   At sī cervīcēs dūrātaque cōla rigēbunt, (mīra loquor) geminus mulcēbitur unguine poples.But if the nape and the hardened neck shall be stiff, (wondrous things I'm saying) the twin knee shall be rubbed with ointment.2nd c. CE, Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, Liber Medicīnālis 280–281
3. poeticrareto gently move something
   mulserat hūc nāvem compulsam flūctibŭs pontusThe sea had gently moved the ship stricken by waves hither.239 BCE – 169 BCE, Ennius, Annales 257
4. poeticto soften, relax
   […]et male dulcis odor domat ōra et pectora et arma[…] and the fatally sweet smell subdues the mouths and chests and weapons and the iron-clad muscles with crushing strength softens.348 CE – c. 410 CE, Prudentius, Psȳchomachia 330–331
5. poeticto make sweet or pleasant
   Vēre tuō numquam mulcērī dēsinit annus;During your [Rome's] spring never does the year cease to be made pleasant; and the conquered winter respects your charms. (please add an English translation of this quotation)5th c. CE, Rutilius Namatianus, Dē reditū suō 113–114
6. figurativelypoeticto soothe, soften, appease, placate
   Septem illum tōtōs perhibent ex ordine mēnsīs rūpe sub āeriā dēsertī ad Strȳmonis undam flēvisse, et gelidīs haec ēvolvisse sub antrīs mulcentem tigrīs et agentem carmine quercūs:[…]Seven whole months they say of him [Orpheus], under the tall crag, beside the wave of the deserted Strymon to have wept, and to have said this under the icy caves, softening tigers and moving oaks with song: […]c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.507–510
   Nōn differō in longius tempus, quō dēsīderium omne mulcētur, quō etiam ācerrimī lūctūs residunt.I'm not putting off to any more distant time when every regret shall be soothed, when even the most intense griefs shall quieten.c. 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 7.63.3
7. figurativelypoeticto help, alleviate
   Ingemuit Chīrōn trāxitque ē corpore ferrum: adgemit Alcīdēs Haemoniusque puer. Ipse tamen lēctās Pagasaeīs collibus herbās temperat et variā volnera mulcet ope: vīrus edāx superābat opem, penitusque recepta ossibus et tōtō corpore pestis erat. Chiron groaned and drew the iron out of the body: Alcides and the Haemonian boy groans back.gathers and helps the wounds with diverse aid: the greedy poison was overcoming the help, and received within to the bones and the entire body was the pestilence.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.499–504
   Prīma propolis alvōrum, dē quā dīximus, acūleōs et omnia īnfīxa corporī extrahit, tūbera discutit, dūra concoquit, dolōrēs nervōrum mulcet ulceraque iam dēspērantia cicatrīcem clūdit.First, propolis of the hives, of which we've talked about, extracts bee stings and anything embedded in the body, reduces swellings, softens calluses, alleviates pains of the nerves and closes ulcers already hopeless with a scar.77 CE – 79 CE, Plinius Maior, Naturalis Historia 22.50.107
8. poeticto delight
   Quae cum adesse dēbent, tum disponenda atque varianda sunt, ut audītōrem, quod in fidibus fierī vidēmus, omnī sonō mulceant.Which, while they need to be present, also are to be arranged and varied, so as to delight the hearer with all the musicality, as we see with the lyre.c. 95 CE, Quintilianus, Institutio oratoria 9.2.4

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Conjugation conjugation 2

Origins

From Proto-Italic *molkeō (“to rub, stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)m(o)lḱ-eye-ti (“to touch repeatedly”), from a root *(H)melḱ- (“to touch”); see also Sanskrit मृक्षति (mṛkṣati, “to stroke, smear, rub”), मृश् (mṛś, “to touch, stroke”).

In English words that came into English from mulceō

• demulcentdēmulcēns
• demulcedēmulceō
• mulsemulsum

Related words