μέλλω
I. "to think of doing, intend to do, to be about to do", with inf., mostly inf. fut., τάχ᾽ ἔμελλε δώσειν he "was just going" to give, Il.; μέλλεις ἀφαιρήσεσθαι ἄεθλον thou "thinkest" to strip me of the prize, id=Il.; often with οὐκ ἄρα, as, οὐκ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλες λήξειν; "did you" not "think you might" stop? "could" you not stop? Od., etc.; "to be about to do" (on compulsion), "to be destined to do or to be", τὰ οὐ τελέεσθαι ἔμελλον which "were" not "to be" accomplished, Il.; μέλλεν οἶκος ἀφνειὸς ἔμμεναι the house "was destined" to be wealthy, Od.; εἰ ἐμέλλομεν ἀνοίσειν if "we were able to" refer, Plat.
2. to express "a certainty", μέλλω ἀπέχθεσθαι Διί "it must be that" I am hated by Zeus, Il.; μέλλω ἀθανάτους ἀλιτέσθαι "I must have" sinned against the immortals, Od.
3. to mark "a probability", when it may be rendered "to be like to do or be", or expressed by an adv., τὰ δὲ μέλλετ᾽ ἀκουέμεν "belike" ye have heard it, Hom.; μέλλεις ἴδμεναι "thou art like" to know of it, Od.; ἐμέλλετ᾽ ἆρα πάντες ἀνασείειν βοήν aye, all of you "were like to" raise (i. e. "I thought you would" raise) a cry of submission, Ar.
II. to mark mere intention, "to be always going to do" without ever doing, and so "to delay, put off, hesitate, scruple", mostly with inf. pres., τί μέλλομεν χωρεῖν; Soph.; often followed by μὴ οὐ or μή, τί μέλλομεν μὴ πράσσειν; Eur.
2. μέλλω often stands without its inf., τὸν υἱὸν ἑόρακας αὐτοῦ; Answ. τί δ᾽ οὐ μέλλω; why "shouldn't I" have seen him? i. e. "be sure I have", Xen.; οὐδὲν ἐπάθετε οὐδὲ ἐμελλήσατε (sc. παθεῖν) Thuc.:—so, when μέλλω seems to govern an acc., an inf. is omitted, τὸ μέλλειν ἀγαθά (sc. πράσσειν) the "expectation" of good things, Eur.: hence
3. the part. μέλλων without an inf. (where εἶναι or γίγνεσθαι may be supplied), ὁ μ. χρόνος "the future" time, Pind., Aesch.; esp. in neut., τὸ μέλλον, τὰ μέλλοντα "things to come, the event, issue, future", Aesch., etc.:—so in Mid., τὰ ἰσχυρότατα ἐλπιζόμενα μέλλεται your strongest pleas "are" hopes "in futurity", Thuc.
III. μέλλομαι as Pass., ὡς μὴ μέλλοιτο τὰ δέοντα that the necessary steps "might" not "be delayed", Xen.; ἐν ὅσωι ταῦτα μέλλεται while these "delays are going on", Dem.