mildew

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a thin, usually whitish fungal growth on plants or damp organic material

   Powdery mildew spread across the leaves after several humid weeks.

2. 2
   verb

   to become affected or damaged by mildew

   The books began to mildew in the damp basement.

From Middle English mildew and Old English mildēaw, a compound whose second element is dew; related forms appear in Dutch meeldauw and German Mehltau.

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