milk English · revision 4006

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 900|origins=ine-pro *h₂melǵ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɪlk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|milk]], mylc,^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|meoluc]] (West Saxon), milc (Anglian),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*meluks|alt=*meluk-|t=milk]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from *melk- “to milk”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*h₂melǵ-|alt=*melg-|t=to wipe, rub off; to stroke; to milk]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) in reference to the hand motion of milking.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Germanic cognates include Old Norse mjólk, Dutch melk, German Milch and Gothic miluks,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the root also gave Latin mulgēre and Greek amélgein “to milk”.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Old Church Slavonic meleko is considered a Germanic loan.^(Etymonline) The verb is Old English milcian, from the noun.^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[emulsion]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The white fluid secreted by female mammals to feed their young: before 900 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 899 in Alfred's translation of Bede according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Milk-like plant juices are from about 1200.^(Etymonline) The verb's figurative sense “to exploit for profit” is attested by the 1520s,^(Etymonline) and in theatre jargon, “to get more applause than is warranted”, by 1938.^(Etymonline) The ''milk tooth'' is from 1727^(Etymonline) and ''milk chocolate'' is recorded by 1723.^(Etymonline) ''To cry over spilt milk'' is attested in 1820, in a Nashville newspaper,^(Etymonline) and a British paper called it an old saying in 1823.^(Etymonline) The ''milk of human kindness'' is from Shakespeare's Macbeth,^(Cresswell 2021) and the land “flowing with milk and honey” from Exodus.^(Cresswell 2021) The milkshake was used from 1889 for various drinks, the modern one from the 1930s.^(Etymonline) ''Milky Way'' (14th century) translates Latin via lactea.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 900 – the fluid.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – plant juices.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – verb, to exploit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1723 – ''milk chocolate''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1727 – ''milk tooth''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1820 – ''to cry over spilt milk''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1938 – to milk applause.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A whitish liquid produced by the [[mammary gland|alt=mammary glands]] of female mammals to feed their young.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The milk of cows, goats or other animals, used as food.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A liquid like milk, such as the juice of a coconut or the sap of some plants.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To draw milk from a cow, goat or other animal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To draw out or extract as if by milking.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To exploit for profit or advantage.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[milker]]

+ * [[milkless]]

+ * [[unmilked]]

+ * [[milking machine]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[milch]]

+ * [[emulsion]]

+ * [[milksop]]

+ * [[milky]]

+ * [[lactic]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}