miller English · revision 4798

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1362|origins=en mill, en -er}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈmɪl.ər/, US /ˈmɪl.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|millere]], mylnere, mulnere,^(Hoad 1986) an agent noun from [[mill]] with the suffix [[-er]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) Hoad and the Shorter Oxford think it was probably taken from [[gml|molner|alt=Middle Low German]] or Middle Dutch molner, mulner and made to agree with mill;^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) those words, like Old High German mulināri (German Müller), come from [[la-lat|molīnārius]], from molīna “mill”.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) The Old English word was mylnweard “mill-keeper”, kept in the surname Millward.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who grinds corn in a mill: 1362 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) as a surname by the early 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Millers were proverbially dishonest in taking their toll of the grain, as in Chaucer (about 1386).^(OED 1989) The proverb ''too much water drowned the miller'' is from 1805.^(OED 1989) Since 1668 the name has been given to moths and caterpillars with powdery or hairy wings and bodies,^(OED 1989)^(AHD) while from 1839 it was used of anyone who works a mill or milling machine.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1362 – one who grinds corn.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1386 – the dishonest miller of proverb.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1668 – a powdery moth.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1839 – one who works any mill.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who owns or works in a [[mill]], especially one that grinds [[grain]] into [[flour]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[milling machine]].^(AHD)

+ # Any of various moths with a powdery look.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[undermiller]]

+ * [[dusty miller]]

+ * [[molly miller]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[millstone]]

+ * [[mill]]

+ * [[millward]]

+ * [[meal]]

+ * [[molar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Miller is a common surname, the source of the Miller indices in crystallography, named after the English scientist W. H. Miller (1890 in the OED).^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}