mêlé

Mêlé is the masculine singular past participle of the French verb mêler, meaning to mix, blend or mingle. As an adjective, mêlé describes something that has been combined with other elements or a person who is involved in a situation with others. For example, one might speak of a parfum mêlé d’épices (a fragrance mingled with spices) or a groupe mêlé (a mixed group). The feminine form is mêlée, used with feminine nouns such as une foule mêlée or une soupe mêlée d’herbes.

In addition to its adjectival use, mêlé appears in fixed expressions related to involvement. On the one hand, to be mêlé à something means to be involved or entangled in it, as in être mêlé à une affaire (to be involved in a matter). On the other hand, the word can describe a mixture that results from combining elements, though more common terms for that sense are mélange or mélangé.

La mêlée is a related noun with a distinct meaning: it denotes a melee, a disorderly fight or scuffle, and in sports such as rugby it refers to the scrum. This noun form carries a strong sense of crowding or close contact, rather than merely mixing.

Etymology and related forms: mêlé comes from the Old French mesler, from the Latin miscēre, meaning to mix. Related verbs include mêler and mélanger, with the noun mélange designating a blend or mixture.

See also: mélanger, mélange, mêlée (scrum/melee), mêlée (figurative sense of involvement).