English
moulin
Moulin comes from Old French molin, from Late Latin molinum ‘mill’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to grind, crush’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-1‘to grind, crush’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mélh₂ti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*melō1‘to grind’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmolō2‘to grind or mill’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmolinum3‘mill’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400molin4
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600moulin4
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmoulin3
- Englishtodaymoulin3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin molo
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin molinum
- 3 Wiktionary, English moulin
- 4 Wiktionary, French moulin
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-Wiktionary, Latin molo‘to grind, crush’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mélh₂tiWiktionary, Latin moloreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*melōWiktionary, Latin molo‘to grind’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmolōWiktionary, Latin molinum‘to grind or mill’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmolinumWiktionary, English moulin‘mill’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400molinWiktionary, French moulin
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600moulinWiktionary, French moulin
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmoulinWiktionary, English moulin
- EnglishtodaymoulinWiktionary, English moulin
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to grind, crush’
miller, meal, mild, mold, mole, mule, bonanza, muller, millet, camo, amalgam, malleable, melatonin, mullet, molar, maelstrom, mould, mull, martel, malm, amyl, 38 more
through Latin molō ‘to grind or mill’
through Late Latin molinum ‘mill’
Today it means
noun A cylindrical, vertical shaft that extends through a glacier and is carved by meltwater from the glacier’s surface.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “moulin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin molo, Latin molinum, French moulin. 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 *melh₂- / moulin