mill English · revision 5543

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|grinding}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 961|origins=la mola}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mille|alt=mulne, mylne, mille]], [[inh|ang|mylen]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) an early borrowing [[bor|la-lat|molīna|alt=molīna, molīnum|t=mill]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the feminine and neuter of [[m|la-lat|molīnus|t=of a mill]], from [[m|la|mola|t=mill, millstone]], related to molere “to grind”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*melh₂-|alt=*mele-|t=to crush, grind]].^(Etymonline) Late Latin molina also gave German Mühle, Old Norse mylna and French moulin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The n was gradually lost but survives in the surname Milner.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[meal]] and [[molar]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A building with machinery for grinding grain: about 961 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The grinding apparatus itself is from 1535.^(OED 1989) A machine for grinding other substances is from 1560 in the OED, the 1670s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Other machines worked by wind or water came to be called mills by the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and a building for manufacturing, a factory, from about 1500.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) ''Put through the mill'' is from the early 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) A boxing match was ''a mill'' in 1819 slang.^(Etymonline) The verb, to grind in a mill, is from the 1550s and 1560s,^(Etymonline) and to flute the edge of a coin from 1724.^(Etymonline) To move round aimlessly in a crowd, at first of cattle, is from 1874.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 961 – a grain mill.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1500 – a factory.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – the verb.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1724 – to mill a coin's edge.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1874 – to mill around.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A building with machinery for grinding grain into [[flour]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[factory]] for processing raw materials: ''a steel mill'', ''a paper mill''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small device for grinding [[pepper]], coffee and the like.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A machine that crushes, presses or rolls things.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To grind or process in a mill.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To shape or finish metal with a milling machine, or cut ridges on the edge of a coin.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(with about or around)'' Of a crowd, to move around without purpose.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|thousandth of a dollar}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1786|origins=la mīlle}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The money of account is a shortening of [[la|mīllēsimum|t=a thousandth part]], from [[m|la|mīlle|t=a thousand]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) formed after [[cent]], short for Latin centēsimus “a hundredth”.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) See [[mile]] and [[million]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One thousandth of a dollar, an original unit of United States currency: 1786 in Etymonline and MWU, 1791 in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is now used only in calculating taxes.^(Etymonline) One thousandth of a pound was proposed as a coin in Britain and used in Cyprus.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1786 – a thousandth of a dollar.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One thousandth of a [[dollar]], or a tenth of a [[cent]], used in calculating taxes.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[miller]]

+ * [[millstone]]

+ * [[meal]]

+ * [[molar]]

+ * [[mile]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Mill is also an informal shortening of [[million]] and of [[millimetre]], both from the mid-20th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}