[mil.dew] n [ME, fr. OE meledeaw honeydew; akin to OHG militou honeydew] (14c) 1 a: a superficial usu. whitish growth produced esp. on organic matter or living plants by fungi (as of the families Erysiphaceae and Peronosporaceae) b: a fungus producing mildew
2: a discoloration caused by fungi -- mil.dewy adj
[2]mildew vt (ca. 1552): to affect with or as if with mildew ~ vi: to become affected with mildew