Etymograph

English

mull

Mull comes from Middle English molle ‘dust, rubbish’, from Proto-West Germanic *mulljan ‘to crush (into pieces), grind’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-1‘to beat, crush, grind’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*malaną2‘to grind’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*muljaną3‘to crush (into pieces), grind’uncertain
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mulljan4‘to crush (into pieces), grind’uncertain
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*muli4‘dust, powder’uncertain
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150myl4‘dust, mould’uncertain
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molle4‘dust, rubbish’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1904mull4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *malaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *muljaną
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *mulljan
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English mull
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1904, Parliamentary Debates, New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives: “Mr. HERDMAN. — The honourable member for Nelson says…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *malaną‘to beat, crush, grind’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*malanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *muljaną‘to grind’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*muljanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *mulljan‘to crush (into pieces), grind’uncertain
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mulljanWiktionary, English mull‘to crush (into pieces), grind’uncertain
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*muliWiktionary, English mull‘dust, powder’uncertain
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150mylWiktionary, English mull‘dust, mould’uncertain
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molleWiktionary, English mull‘dust, rubbish’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1904mullWiktionary, English mull. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1904, Parliamentary Debates, New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives: “Mr. HERDMAN. — The honourable member for Nelson says…”

The story

Inherited from Middle English molle, mulle (‘dust, rubbish’), possibly from Old English myl (‘dust, mould’), from Proto-West Germanic *muli, a deverbal formation from *mulljan and thus cognate with Dutch mul (‘dust, mould’), German Müll (‘rubbish’), Swedish moln (‘cloud’) and related to English mill (‘to grind’). Some verbal senses are supplied by Middle English mollen (‘to soften, dissolve’), from Old French moillier, from Latin *molliāre (‘to steep’), itself from mollis; compare moil.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to beat, crush, grind’

meal, miller, mild, mill, mold, camo, mould, bonanza, molar, melatonin, amalgam, maelstrom, mule, martel, moline, malleable, moulin, malm, amyl, 41 more

through Middle English molle ‘dust, rubbish’

mole

Another origin of mull

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*mailos‘bald’reconstructed
  2. Old Irishc. 600–900máel‘bald, hornless, blunt’
  3. Scottish Gaelicmodernmaol‘bald (head etc)’
  4. Englishtodaymull

Another origin of mull

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-‘to grind, crush’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ml̥h₂-téh₂reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*muldō‘dirt, soil’reconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350mold‘earth, dirt, soil’
  5. Danishmodernmuld‘fertile, arable soil’
  6. Englishtodaymull

Today it means

verb To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mull”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *malaną, Proto-Germanic *muljaną, Proto-West Germanic *mulljan. 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- / mull

Shirt and support for this word