Milk

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /mɪlk/

Definitions

1. A white, nutritious fluid secreted by mammals used for nourishing offspring
2. A versatile liquid commonly consumed by humans as a drink and used in various food preparations
3. A creamy, nutrient-rich liquid produced by mammals that serves to feed their young and is also prevalent in culinary uses

Etymology: The word is one of the oldest in English. Its ancestor was a Proto-Indo-European root, *h₂melǵ-, that meant both "milk" and "to milk," and the verb and noun have stayed tied to that single root ever since. The Old English noun was "meolc" or "meoluc," and the verb was "melcan," which became "milk" as a verb in Middle English under the form "mylken." The root has spread across much of the Indo-European family. German has "Milch," Dutch "melk," Swedish "mjölk," and Russian "молоко́" (molokó), all from the same source, and the Greek verb "amélgo" and the Latin "mulgeō" also meant "to milk." The shared root suggests the word is very ancient, reaching back to a time when the speakers of the parent language were already dairying.

Synonyms: dairy, cream, liquid, nourishment, lactate