Etymograph

English

milk

Milk comes from Middle English mylk, from Old English meolc, from Proto-Germanic *meluks ‘milk’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- ‘to milk’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-1‘milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*meluks1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*meluk1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150meolc1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milk1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2014milk1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English milk
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, Don Eggspuehler, Teachings From Pop: “She just sat there drinking cup after cup of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-Wiktionary, English milk‘milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*meluksWiktionary, English milkreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*melukWiktionary, English milkreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150meolcWiktionary, English milk
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milkWiktionary, English milk
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2014milkWiktionary, English milk. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2014, Don Eggspuehler, Teachings From Pop: “She just sat there drinking cup after cup of…”

Linked words

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

emulsion, promulgation, milch, 2 more

Another origin of milk

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂melǵ-‘to milk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*melkaną‘to milk’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*melkanreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150melcan‘to milk’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milken
  6. Englishtodaymilk

Today it means

noun A white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals to nourish their young. From certain animals, especially cows, it is also called dairy milk and is a common food for humans as a beverage or used to produce various dairy products such as butter, cheese, and yogurt.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “milk”. 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- / milk

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