Melvilles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Belonging to or associated with people named Melville, such as the family or works of the American author Herman Melville
2. Relating to a group of individuals bearing the surname Melville, or to the writings and possessions linked with Herman Melville
3. Describing things owned or created by several people called Melville, including the literary output of the novelist Herman Melville

Etymology: Melville is a surname, and "melvilles" is simply its plural, so the word describes more than one person or family who bears that name. The surname itself goes back to a Norman family whose name was taken from the place Malleville in Normandy, a name that has passed into English through many people who shared it. Plural forms of surnames like this are used when speakers want to refer to several members of a family together, or to several people with the same name. The name is most famously attached to Herman Melville, the American author of "Moby-Dick," and this association often leads readers to assume the plural is about him and his relatives. In practice, the plural works like any other surname plural: "the Melvilles" can mean a household, a clan, or a group of unrelated people who happen to share the name.