Etymograph

English

milch

Milch comes from Old English *melċe ‘strong accusative feminine singular’, from Proto-Germanic *melkaz ‘milky, milk-giving’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-1‘to wipe, wipe off, milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*melkaz1‘milky, milk-giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*milkijaz1reconstructedderived within Proto-Germanic
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*melċe1‘strong accusative feminine singular’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milche1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1593milch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English milch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis: “She wildly breaketh from their strict embrace / Like…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-Wiktionary, English milch‘to wipe, wipe off, milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*melkazWiktionary, English milch‘milky, milk-giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*milkijazWiktionary, English milchreconstructedderived within Proto-Germanic
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*melċeWiktionary, English milch‘strong accusative feminine singular’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milcheWiktionary, English milch
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1593milchWiktionary, English milch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1593, William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis: “She wildly breaketh from their strict embrace / Like…”

The story

From Middle English milche, melche, from Old English *melċe, *milċe (attested in þrimilċe, þrimilċemōnaþ), from Proto-Germanic *milkijaz, *melkijaz from Proto-Germanic *melkaz (‘milky, milk-giving’), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- (‘to wipe, wipe off, milk’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- ‘to wipe, wipe off, milk’

milk, emulsion, promulgation, 2 more

Today it means

adj Used to produce milk; dairy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “milch”. 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- / milch

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