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mealymouthed

 - 2 dictionary results

meal⋅y-mouthed

  [mee-lee-moutht, -mouthd]
Use mealymouthed in a Sentence
–adjective
avoiding the use of direct and plain language, as from timidity, excessive delicacy, or hypocrisy; inclined to mince words; insincere, devious, or compromising.
Also, meal⋅y⋅mouthed.

Origin:
1565–75

Related forms:
meal⋅y-mouth⋅ed⋅ly  [mee-lee-mou-thid-lee, -thid-, -moutht-, -mouthd-] , adverb
meal⋅y-mouth⋅ed⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

mealy-mouthed 
1572, "afraid to say what one really thinks," probably from O.E. milisc "sweet," from P.Gmc. *meduz "honey" (see mead (1)), which suits the sense, but if the O.E. word did not survive long enough to be the source of this, perhaps the first element is from meal (2) on notion of the "softness" of ground flour.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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