- Today's Word
Mollify
[MOL-uh-fye]
Definition
- (verb) To calm someone down when they’re angry or upset, to soothe their emotions, or to make someone less hostile. It can also mean to reduce the severity or intensity of something.
Example
After the waiter spilled soup on the angry customer, the restaurant manager tried to mollify him by offering a free meal and dessert.
Fun Fact
The word “mollify” comes from the Latin word “mollificare,” which literally means “to make soft.” It’s derived from “mollis” (meaning soft) and “facere” (meaning to make). The word first appeared in English in the 15th century, originally referring to the physical softening of something, like leather or wax. Over time, its meaning evolved to focus more on emotional softening rather than physical. This evolution mirrors a common pattern in language where words describing physical actions come to be used for emotional or psychological states. Interestingly, the same Latin root “mollis” gives us other words like “mollusc” (soft-bodied sea creatures) and “emollient” (something that softens or soothes skin), showing how one root word can branch into different but related meanings.
(adjective) Tending to cry easily or frequently; having a mournful or tearful quality that evokes sadness.
The lachrymose eulogy left barely a dry eye in the room, not because it was maudlin but because every word of it was simply and devastatingly true.
Lachrymose derives from the Latin lacrima, meaning “tear,” which itself traces back to the Greek dakryma. The same root gives us lachrymal — the medical term for the tear ducts and glands responsible for producing tears — making lachrymose one of the rare words that bridges everyday emotion and clinical anatomy in a single syllable. It entered English in the 17th century, used initially in literary and poetic contexts to describe writing or music with an overwhelming quality of sadness.