mealy

M3E1A1L1Y4
/ˈmiːli/

adjective

Resembling meal (the foodstuff).

“Below the hole the mice made in the woodwork was a pile of mealy sawdust.”

UncommonScrabble 10

Meanings

mealy1

adjectivemealy (comparative mealier, superlative mealiest)

comparative mealier · superlative mealiest

  1. Resembling meal (the foodstuff).

    Below the hole the mice made in the woodwork was a pile of mealy sawdust.

  2. Of the pale yellow color of a canary.

    That it is a cross-breed there can be no doubt, from the fact that after a year or two the brilliant colours, both orange and black, begin to fade—the orange fading into a mealy tint, and the black to a dingy grey.

    1875, The Bird-Keeper's Guide and Companion, page 19
nounmealy (plural mealies)

plural mealies

  1. A canary of a pale yellow color.

    I know not, indeed, if the artist could give the beautiful orange which distinguish ^([sic]) the jonque, or the mellowness of tint that pervades the mealy.

    1800, The New and Complete Canary-bird Fancier, page 8
    1 more example

    The clear Norwich canaries, as well as the evenly marked, the crested, the ticked, the green, and the unevenly marked, are each divided into two separate classes, i.e., jonques and mealies.

    1884, Robert Linlithgow Wallace, The Canary Book, page 225

Mealy2

proper nounMealy (plural Mealys)

plural Mealys

  1. A surname from Irish.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivecomposed of or covered with particles resembling meal in texture or consistency

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

mealy · adjective, noun

From meal + -y. Cognate with German mehlig.

Full word history & related roots →

Mealy · proper noun

Variant of Malley.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian брашнян
  • брашнян (brašnjan)resembling meal
Czech moučný, moučnatý
  • moučnýresembling meal
  • moučnatýresembling meal
French farineux
  • farineuxresembling meal
German mehlig
  • mehligresembling meal
Greek αλευρώδης
  • αλευρώδης (alevródis)resembling meal
Māori motuhanga, māngaro
  • motuhangaresembling meal
  • māngaroresembling meal
Polish mączny, mączysty
  • mącznyresembling meal
  • mączystyresembling meal
Portuguese farinhento
  • farinhentoresembling meal
Romanian făinos
  • făinosresembling meal
Spanish harinoso
  • harinosoresembling meal

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mealy

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

mealy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealy

MLA

“mealy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mealy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealy.

Source: mealy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.