Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/meluks

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-. Cognate with Latin mulgeō (“milk”, verb).

The presence of *-u- in the second syllable is aberrant, as it was not present in the PIE root or even in the related Germanic verb *melkaną. However, the evidence of all descendants speaks unambiguously in favour of its presence. Aside from being directly attested in most of them, it is also implied by Old Norse u-mutation in case forms where it would not be expected, in the raising of e to i before u in the non-Ingvaeonic West Germanic languages, and in the High German shift /k/ → /x/.

Possible theories of origin of the disputed *-u-:

• According to Kümmel, the vowel *u is an anaptyctic vowel, inserted after the resonant to ease the complicated cluster of three consonants *VRCs#.
• According to Szemerenyi (1992: 1125) it is the result of contamination of the full- and zero-grade in an ablauting paradigm */melk-z/, genitive */mulk-iz/, but this leaves the Schwebeablaut unexplained.
• According to Bammesberger (1990: 196f) this */u/ represents a schwa that arose between the */l/ and the */k/ in the nominative */melk-z/. However, this solution fails to explain why the same did not happen in e.g *alhs (“temple”).
• According to Kroonen, *-u- originates from the strong verb *mel(u)kaną (“to milk”), whence this archaic root noun likely derives. This does not answer the ultimate origin of the u however.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈme.luks/

Noun

*meluks f

1. milk

Inflection

consonant stemDeclension of *meluks (consonant stem)
	singular	plural
nominative	*meluks	*melukiz
vocative	*meluk	*melukiz
accusative	*melukų	*melukunz
genitive	*melukiz	*melukǫ̂
dative	*meluki	*melukumaz
instrumental	*melukē	*melukumiz

Derived terms

• *melukōną

Related terms

• *melhtaz
• *milhtiją
• *melkaną
• *melkaz
• *melukaz

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *meluk
  • Old English: meolc, meoloc, meoluc, milc
    • Middle English: milk, milke, milc; melke, melc; mulk, mulc
      • English: milk
      • Scots: milk, melk, mylk
      • Yola: mulk
  • Old Frisian: melok
    • North Frisian: molke
    • Saterland Frisian: Moalk, Molk
    • West Frisian: molke
  • Old Saxon: miluk
    • Middle Low German: melik, melk
      • Dutch Low Saxon: melk
      • German Low German: Melk

        Plautdietsch: Malkj

  • Old Dutch: miluc
    • Middle Dutch: melc
      • Dutch: melk
        • Afrikaans: melk
        • Berbice Creole Dutch: meleke
        • Jersey Dutch: määlk
        • Negerhollands: melk
        • → Aukan: meliki
        • → Caribbean Javanese: mèleg, mèrki
        • → Munsee: mălák
        • → Saramaccan: meíki
        • → Sranan Tongo: merki
          • → Kari'na: meliki
        • → Tok Pisin: melek
      • Limburgish: mèlk
  • Old High German: miluh
    • Middle High German: milich, milch
      • Alemannic German: Möuch, Melch

        Swabian: Milk

        Walser: milch, meljch, mélläch

      • Bavarian: Muich, Milli, milch, milach, milich

        Cimbrian: milch, milach

        Hianzisch: Müli

        Mòcheno: milch

      • Central Franconian:

        Hunsrik: Millich

        Luxembourgish: Mëllech

      • German: Milch
        • → Tok Pisin: milis
      • Rhine Franconian:

        Pennsylvania German: Millich

      • Vilamovian: myłich
      • Yiddish: מילך (milkh)
• Old Norse: mjǫlk, mjolk, mjólk; miolk
  • Icelandic: mjólk
  • Faroese: mjólk
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: mjølk; (dialectal) mjolk, mjelk
    • → Norwegian Bokmål: mjølk
  • Elfdalian: mjok
  • Old Swedish: miolk, miølk
    • Swedish: mjölk
  • Old Danish: mialk, miælk, mælk, miølk
    • Danish: mælk
      • Norwegian Bokmål: melk
    • Scanian: milk, mjælk
  • Gutnish: mjalk, mjälk, mjölk
• Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐌻𐌿𐌺𐍃 (miluks)
• → Proto-Samic: *mielkkē (see there for further descendants)
• →? Proto-Slavic: *melko (see there for further descendants)

References

• Kümmel, M.J. (2004), Ungeklärtes *u neben Liquida in germanischen Nomina, in: A. Hyllested, A. R. Jørgensen (et al. eds.), Per Aspera ad Asteriscos. Studia Indogermanica in honorem Jens Elmegård Rasmussen sexagenarii Idibus Martiis anno MMMIV (Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 112), Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck, 291-303. p. 298
• Kroonen, Guus (2013) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 364
• Szemerenyi, O. (1987-1992), Scripta minora, selected essays in Inda-European, Greek, and Latin. Innsbruck
• Bammesberger, A. (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens. Heidelberg