• n. 霉；霉病
• vt. 使發(fā)霉
• vi. 發(fā)霉；生霉

mil-,甜的，詞源同molasses,dew,露珠。該詞原義為甘汁，蜜露?，F(xiàn)詞義可能是受meal(粉)影響，即粉狀露珠，用以形容發(fā)霉，霉菌。

mildew

mildew: [OE] Mildew originally meant ‘honeydew’ (which is a sort of sticky substance exuded by aphids and similar insects on to leaves). It is a compound noun formed in the prehistoric Germanic period from *melith ‘honey’ (a relative of Latin mel ‘honey’, source of English mellifluous and molasses) and *daw-waz, ancestor of English dew. The metaphorical transference from ‘honey-dew’ to a less pleasant, fungal growth on plants, etc took place in the 14th century.
=> dew, mellifluous, molasses

mildew (n.)

mid-13c., mildeu "honeydew, nectar," from Old English meledeaw "honeydew" (sticky stuff exuded by aphids), from Proto-Germanic compound of *melith "honey" (see Melissa) + *dawwaz "dew" (see dew). Similar formation in Old Saxon milidou, Dutch meeldauw, German Meltau "mildew."

First element in many cases assimilated to forms of meal (n.2) "ground grain." As a kind of fungus it is first recorded mid-14c., so called from its being sticky and originally growing in plants. As a verb from 1550s. Related: Mildewed.

1. He was already asleep in the bed, which smelled faintly of mildew.

他已經(jīng)在略帶霉味的床上睡著了。

來自柯林斯例句

2. The grain is liable to mildew when the humidity in the barn is too high.

倉庫里潮氣太大,糧食就容易發(fā)霉.

來自《現(xiàn)代漢英綜合大詞典》

3. The room smelled of mildew.

房間里有股霉味。

來自辭典例句

4. The interior was dark and smelled of mildew.

里面光線很暗,霉味撲鼻.

來自辭典例句

5. Mildew may form in this weather.

這種天氣有可能發(fā)霉.

來自辭典例句