Milkings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process or act of extracting milk from female mammals; the periodic removal of milk for consumption or use; the duration or event during which milk is taken
2. The action of drawing milk from animals such as cows or goats; routine collection of milk for dairy purposes; a session or interval devoted to gathering milk
3. The procedure of obtaining milk by manual or mechanical means; repeated or scheduled removal of milk from lactating animals; an episode characterized by milking activity

Etymology: "Milkings" is simply the plural of "milking," the noun for the act of drawing milk from an animal, and the plural form is used when referring to separate sessions or episodes of that work. The noun grows from the verb "milk," which in Old English was "meolcian" or "milcian," meaning to draw milk from an animal. Adding the suffix "-ing" to a verb to name the action is one of English's most productive habits, and the same pattern gives us words like "reading" and "building." Earlier English forms show the word's path more clearly. Middle English had "mylkynge" and "milkinge," which carried the same sense, and these came from the verb with the same suffix. The noun therefore has a long continuous history in English, with the sense of repeated sessions tracing back to the verb's ordinary meaning of drawing milk again and again.

Synonyms: extractions, drawings