melissa

The lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), one type of melissa plant

From Late Latin melissa, from Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee”), because the plant attracts bees.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /məˈlɪsə/
• Hyphenation: mel‧is‧sa

melissa (plural melissas)

1. A plant of the genus Melissa, especially lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), often used medicinally.
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Alternatiues, Hearbes, Other Creatures, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 4, member 1, subsection 3, page 300:

     Meliſſa, Bawme, hath an excellent vertue to alter Melancholy, bee it ſteeped in our ordinary drinke, extracted, or otherwise taken.

• dropsywort
• honey plant (one sense)

• Esmails, Maisels, Milases, Salemis, aimless, mesails, samiels, seismal

From translingual Melissa.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmelisːɑ/, [ˈme̞lis̠ːɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -elisːɑ
• Syllabification^(key): me‧lis‧sa

melissa

1. melissa (plant of the genus Melissa)

• melassi

melissa f (plural melisse)

1. lemon balm

• limasse, messali