# Melee is pronunced may-lay, not mee-lee. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348 "2004-06-26T20:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/21 "2004-06-27T05:52:01Z")
I’m sure I say things wrong all the time. This one just gets under my skin. I wasn’t ranting for you, Polycarp. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/22 "2004-06-27T06:45:43Z")
I pronounce it ‘mee-lee’ when used as an adjetive- as in “Melee combat”. However, I pronounce it ‘may-lay’ when used as a noun- “A fierce melee erupted” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/23 "2004-06-27T12:08:41Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > To refer to an older game medium – in Monopoly, the name of the railroad is pronounced “Redding,” not “Reeding.” /hijack Yes, but how do you pronounce “Marylebone”? ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/24 "2004-06-27T12:18:23Z")
It’s pronounced mel-lay or may-lay. mee-lee is manifestly incorrect. [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=melee](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=melee) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/25 "2004-06-27T12:45:02Z")
Melee massacre? Can’t you people just let the Viet Nam war go? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/26 "2004-06-27T22:06:40Z")
I pronounce it mee-lee and hate hearing it pronounced may-lay, it just sounds weird. I don’t give a damn how it’s _supposed_ to pronounced, my way is better. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/27 "2004-06-27T22:40:17Z")
But Mee-Lee sounds like a cheap hooker in a B-Movie Vietnam flick… For that matter, May-Lay isn’t much better, which is probably why the correct pronunciation is somewhere closer to meh-lay. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/28 "2004-06-27T22:44:41Z")
> [@Legolamb](#): > > which is probably why the correct pronunciation is somewhere closer to meh-lay. As in Edna St. Vincent… ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/29 "2004-06-27T22:47:49Z")
Actually, it derives from annotations in the Little Black Books of geeky boys involved in RPGs. “Heather – melee Jennifer – not a chance” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/30 "2004-06-27T23:11:26Z")
So if it’s supposed to be ‘may-lay’, WHY THE FUCK IS IT SPELLED ‘MELEE’??? Having never, ever heard the word used in everyday conversation, I just assumed it’s pronounced ‘mee-lee’, as seen in the gaming world. How would I know? And how do I know about those that claim its ‘may-lay’ are correct? What can you say about the French? Personally, I find “bitch-slap” to be equally effective. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/31 "2004-06-27T23:16:15Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > To refer to an older game medium – in Monopoly, the name of the railroad is pronounced “Redding,” not “Reeding.” /hijack Really??? Is it a specific place with one of those “regional” pronunciations?? Like Grinich for Greenwiche? I always pronounced it like it was spelled. Unless my memory has really gone (and it’s the first thing :D), it was spelled Reading Railroad. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/32 "2004-06-27T23:24:12Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > So if it’s supposed to be ‘may-lay’, WHY THE FUCK IS IT SPELLED ‘MELEE’??? Having never, ever heard the word used in everyday conversation, I just assumed it’s pronounced ‘mee-lee’, as seen in the gaming world. How would I know? And how do I know about those that claim its ‘may-lay’ are correct? What can you say about the French? > > Personally, I find “bitch-slap” to be equally effective. “I don’t want to get involved in a mehlay,” said Ruhnay, clad in a negluhjay. We’ve been borrowing words from French since 1067, and 937 years ought to be long enough to get used to the fact that they spell things differently than English does – especially in Paghreeee and Mar-say. Not to mention Boar-doh or Reams, where they have that cathedral. Perhaps somebody from Kuh-Beck might be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/33 "2004-06-27T23:27:25Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Really??? Is it a specific place with one of those “regional” pronunciations?? Like Grinich for Greenwiche? > > I always pronounced it like it was spelled. Unless my memory has really gone (and it’s the first thing :D), it was spelled Reading Railroad. It was a regional railroad that ran from Reading [pronounced “Redding”], Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Either it ran to Atlantic City in the '30s or whatshisface (not Clarence Darrow…) ran out of railroad names and borrowed it. Although the Reading Railroad is defunct, the terminal in Philly is still known as Reading Terminal. No trains now go to Reading Terminal, but the farmer’s market there, originally founded by Amish farmers from Lancaster County bringing their wares to the big city via train, is still thriving after more than a century of operation. Tourists – make sure you check it out, perhaps at lunchtime… That, BTW, is where the opening scene in _Witness_ was shot. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/34 "2004-06-27T23:33:01Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] It was a regional railroad that ran from Reading [pronounced “Redding”], Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Either it ran to Atlantic City in the '30s or whatshisface (not Clarence Darrow…) ran out of railroad names and borrowed it…QUOTE] VERY cool. Thanks for the interesting bit of trivia. I did not know that. Well, if I play Monopoly ever again, I’ll not make that mistake again. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/35 "2004-06-28T02:39:13Z")
Round here we pronouce it metal-ee. I guess…Thats how the guys says it when I hear it, so thats how I pronouce it. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/36 "2004-06-28T03:43:20Z")
Marylbone is pronounces " Luxury Yacht". Hope this helps. I’ve always wondered it as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/37 "2004-06-28T07:50:14Z")
Meh. (lay) ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/38 "2004-06-28T13:18:28Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Gamers, please, hear my cry. Say the word correctly! Dude, you REALLY don’t want to know how my friends and I used to say _chimera_. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/39 "2004-06-28T13:46:08Z")
I have a friend who mispronounces it mee-lee. Drives me nuts. I know it’s more like meh-lay, but my Southern American English means it comes out more like may-lay. But he mispronounces paladin as pa-LAD-in, which really drives me nuts. I mispronounced chimera for years, until Mission: Impossible 2. I pronounced it with a hard “ch” and so it rhymed with shimmer-a. Always got lich wrong, too (hard “ch” instead of a “ck” sound.) ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348/40 "2004-06-28T22:33:35Z")
And there are still more pronucniation controversies in Dungeons and Dragons: Is _deity_ pronounced “dee’ it ee” or “day’ it ee?” Is _THAC0_ pronounced “thack’ oh” or “thack’ ze\*\*’\*\* row?” And how the fuck do you pronounce Baatezu and Ta’anari? (and which are devils and which demons?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melee-is-pronunced-may-lay-not-mee-lee/252348.md?page=3)