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 (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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, and in the raising of e to i before u in the non-Ingvaeonic West Germanic languages.

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

• According to Kümmel, the vowel *u is an anaptyctic vowel, inserted after the resonant in 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

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) 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

• Old English: meolc, meoloc, meoluc, milc
  • Middle English: milk, milke, milc; melke, melc (chiefly Kent & Southern West); mulk, mulc (chiefly Southern & Southern West)
    • English: milk
    • Scots: milk, melk, mylk
    • Yola: mulk
• Old Frisian: melok
  • North Frisian: molke
  • Saterland Frisian: Molk
  • West Frisian: molke
• Old Saxon: miluk
  • Middle Low German: melik, melk
    • Dutch Low Saxon: melk
    • German Low German: Melk

      Plautdietsch: Malkj

• Old Dutch: miluk, miloch
  • 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

      Mòcheno: milch

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

      Pennsylvania German: Millich

    • Vilamovian: myłich
    • Yiddish: מילך (milkh)
• Old Norse: mjǫlk, mjolk, mjólk; miolk — Old East Norse
  • 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
• → Proto-Samic: *mielkkē
• → Proto-Slavic: *melko (possibly)

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