melca

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin melica, from Latin medica (“Median”). Compare Italian meliga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈmɛl.kə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈmel.ka]

Noun

melca f (plural melques)

1. sorghum

   Synonym: sorgo

Related terms

• melga

Further reading

• “melca” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “melca”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “melca” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “melca” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Latin

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-. Compare English milk.

Noun

melca f (genitive melcae); first declension

1. some type of food made with soured milk, similar to Greek oxygala

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	melca	melcae
Genitive	melcae	melcārum
Dative	melcae	melcīs
Accusative	melcam	melcās
Ablative	melcā	melcīs
Vocative	melca	melcae

Descendants

• Ancient Greek: μέλκα (mélka)

References

• “melca” in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (TLL Open Access), Berlin (formerly Leipzig): De Gruyter (formerly Teubner), 1900–present
• melca in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.