Etymograph

English

emulsion

Emulsion comes from Latin ēmulgeō ‘to milk out, extract’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-1‘to milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂molǵéyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*molgeō1‘to milk’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmulgeō2‘milk, extract’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmulgeō3‘to milk out, extract’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900ēmulsiō3
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentémulsion3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2016emulsion3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mulgeo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin emulgeo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English emulsion
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Tom Whipple, Microcannon firing nanobullets: the future of targeted medic: “When an ultrasonic beam is fired at the microcannons,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-Wiktionary, Latin mulgeo‘to milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂molǵéyetiWiktionary, Latin mulgeoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*molgeōWiktionary, Latin mulgeo‘to milk’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmulgeōWiktionary, Latin emulgeo‘milk, extract’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmulgeōWiktionary, English emulsion‘to milk out, extract’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900ēmulsiōWiktionary, English emulsion
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentémulsionWiktionary, English emulsion
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2016emulsionWiktionary, English emulsion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Tom Whipple, Microcannon firing nanobullets: the future of targeted medic: “When an ultrasonic beam is fired at the microcannons,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- ‘to milk’

milk, milch, 2 more

through Latin mulgeō ‘milk, extract’

promulgation, 1 more

Today it means

noun A stable suspension of small droplets of one liquid in another with which it is immiscible.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “emulsion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin mulgeo, Latin emulgeo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- / emulsion

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