melissa
/məˈlɪsə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.84 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A plant of the genus Melissa, especially lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), often used medicinally.
name
Bee-nymph in Greek mythology.
name
A female given name from Ancient Greek, popular in the latter half of the 20th century.
Example Sentences
- "Meliſſa, Bawme, hath an excellent vertue to alter Melancholy, bee it ſteeped in our ordinary drinke, extracted, or otherwise taken."
- "And her owne handmayd, that Melissa hight / Appointed to attend her dewly day and night"
- "Miss Melissa Wackles was the eldest daughter, Miss Sophy the next, and Miss Jane the youngest."
- "- - - by Mrs. Melissa Blaydon and Miss Ianthe Ambrose. "Well, they may be sisters," said Nigel. "Those elegant, classical Christian names suggest one father."
- "The first line of dialogue is from an off-screen Field Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), asking the team to stay in sight and “make NASA proud”."
Etymology
From Late Latin melissa, from Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee”), because the plant attracts bees.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: melissa, μέλισσα
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /məˈlɪsə/
- British English: /məˈlɪsə/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Frequently Paired Words
Melitta
Synonyms
dropsywort
honey plant