Etymology

This word clearly descends by some route from the PGmc wk. 1 v. *maþljan-, cp. OE mæðlan (variant mǣl-) ‘to speak’ and Go maþljan, OIcel mæla, OS mahalian, OHG mahalen, a formation on the n. PGmc *maþlan represented by OE mæðel etc. OE mǣlan (on the origin of which, see Ringe 2007) will therefore account well enough for ME mele, and a native origin is all that is cited by several authorities (thus OED, TGD, GDS, Kullnick 8). Ringe (2007: 429–30) however contends that input from ON mæla would have contributed to the spread of the late OE mǣl- variant in ME, and a number of other etymological discussions have argued for ON influence (thus Kluge 1901: 934, Bj. and MED).

PGmc Ancestor

*maþljan-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

mæla 'to speak'
(ONP mæla (1) (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far mæla, Icel mæla, Norw mæla, Dan mæle, Sw mäla

OE Cognate

mæðlan, mǣlan 'to speak' 

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

CC2c

Attestation

Widespread in early ME, but increasingly restricted to N and E texts and to alliterative poetry (of whatever origin) from the later 14c.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 447, 543, 974, etc., Pe 497, 589, 797, etc.; Cl 51, 736, 748, etc.; Pat 10, 329; WA 147, 729, 2078 etc.

At WA 729, the A MS reads <tellis> and thus editors follow the D reading <mellys> to restore alliteration.

Bibliography

MED mēlen (v.) , OED3 mele (v.) , HTOED , Dance mele, Bj. 104, de Vries mæla (1), Mag. mæla (2), Bj-L. mæle (1), Orel *maþljanan, AEW gemǣlan (2), mæðlan