I. ˈmelən, dial ˈmilyən noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English meloun, from Middle French melon, from Late Latin melon-, melo, short for Latin melopepon-, melopepo, from Greek mēlopepōn, from mēlon apple + pepōn, a kind of edible gourd — more at pumpkin
1.
a. : either of two soft-fleshed sweet-flavored pepos that are usually eaten raw as a fruit:
(1) : muskmelon
(2) : watermelon
b. or melon vine : a plant that bears melons
2. : something suggesting a musk-melon or watermelon especially in roundness
graceful melon sleeves
as
a. archaic : staphyloma
b. : a rounded mass of blubber found between the blowhole and the end of the nose in the grampus and several other cetaceans
c. slang : an abdomen that protrudes (as from fat or pregnancy)
3. : a strong yellowish pink that is redder and less strong than salmon pink, yellower and paler than peach red or madder scarlet, and redder and paler than average salmon
4.
a. : a large surplus of profits available for distribution to stockholders
the shareholders cut a melon of nearly a million dollars
b. : an abundant and usually nonrecurrent or irregular amount (as of profits or spoils) shared or available for sharing among various individuals — compare plum 4
II. ˈmeˌlän
variant of mellon
III. ˈmelən noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening
Australia : pademelon