Mealy

Mealy is an adjective derived from meal, used to describe textures or appearances that are powdery, grainy, or floury. In food, a mealy texture is dry and crumbly, in contrast to waxy or creamy textures. The term is commonly applied to certain varieties of potatoes with a dry, starchy interior and to fruits such as mealy apples, whose flesh tends to crumble under pressure. It can also describe fabrics or plant surfaces with a similar powdery finish.

Mealybugs are scale insects covered with a white, waxy, meal-like coating. They feed on plant sap and can cause damage to houseplants and crops. The name “mealy” refers to the appearance of their waxy filaments. Management typically involves mechanical removal, cultural controls, and, in some cases, systemic insecticides or biological controls.

A Mealy machine is a type of finite-state machine in computer science whose outputs depend on both its current state and the current input. This contrasts with a Moore machine, where outputs depend only on the state. Mealy machines are widely used in digital design and parsing, where the output must reflect input changes promptly as state transitions occur.

Mealy is also a surname. As with many surnames, bearing it does not imply a particular profession, and individuals with the name may be found across different regions and fields.