This week's Thursday's Term-generating reading is Vicki Leon's engrossing How to Mellify a Corpse and Other Human Stories of Ancient Science and Superstition. 
In it, she uses the term "mellify" in connection with Alexander the Great who, she says, asked that his corpse be mellified so as to preserve it. Mellifying involves placing the corpse into honey so as to dehydrate the tissue and create a mummy. Mellification comes from a Latin word mellifico 'make honey', so when I read the title I thought Leon had discovered an ancient alchemical practice where bodies were turned into the valued golden liquid -- and passed off as the real stuff to the unsuspecting.
In it, she uses the term "mellify" in connection with Alexander the Great who, she says, asked that his corpse be mellified so as to preserve it. Mellifying involves placing the corpse into honey so as to dehydrate the tissue and create a mummy. Mellification comes from a Latin word mellifico 'make honey', so when I read the title I thought Leon had discovered an ancient alchemical practice where bodies were turned into the valued golden liquid -- and passed off as the real stuff to the unsuspecting.Mellification of corpses is not a concept you'll run into in many contexts, but you may encounter words based on the Latin for honey ('mel', 'mellis'). You'll find a related word (miel) on the list of drinks at your favorite coffee shop. Today's word is mellifluous. Mellifluous means flowing with honey, often used of a voice. It comes from the Latin noun for honey and the verb to flow ('fluere'). Related words are the adjective mellifluent and the noun mellifluence.
Melissa was a nymph who is said to have invented beekeeping. The plant Melissa officinalis aka Lemon Balm is also known as Bee Balm. See Botanical Names.
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