melken

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch melken, from Old Dutch *melkan, from Proto-Germanic *melkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛlkə(n)/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlkən

Verb

melken

1. to milk

Inflection

Conjugation of melken (strong class 3)
infinitive	melken
past singular	molk
past participle	gemolken
infinitive	melken
gerund	melken n
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	melk	molk
2nd person sing. (jij)	melkt	molk
2nd person sing. (u)	melkt	molk
2nd person sing. (gij)	melkt	molkt
3rd person singular	melkt	molk
plural	melken	molken
subjunctive sing.1	melke	molke
subjunctive plur.1	melken	molken
imperative sing.	melk
imperative plur.1	melkt
participles	melkend	gemolken
1) Archaic.

Related terms

• melk

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German

Etymology

From Middle High German [Term?], from Old High German melchan, from Proto-Germanic *melkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-. The consonantism -lk- is regular High German. The difference between melken and Milch is due to the fact that the latter used to have a short vowel after -l- (Old High German miluh). Compare Dutch melken, English milk, Danish malke, Norwegian mjølke.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛlkən/, [ˈmɛlkən], [ˈmɛlkŋ̩]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

1. (transitive) to milk (a cow, goat etc.)
2. (transitive, figuratively) to drain; to draw from (someone or something), especially without consent; to milk (someone) for money, information, etc.

Conjugation

Weak

Strong

Usage notes

• Melken has full sets of both strong and weak forms, both being accepted as standard. The past participle gemolken is considerably more common than gemelkt. Otherwise there is possibly a tendency to prefer the strong forms in the northern half of the German Sprachraum and the weak forms in the southern half.

Derived terms

• Melkkuh

Related terms

• Milch f
• Molkerei f

Further reading

• “melken” in Duden online

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Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *melkan, from Proto-Germanic *melkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-.

Verb

melken

1. to milk
2. to draw in, to pull
3. to lure

Inflection

Strong class 3
Infinitive	melken
3rd sg. past	malc
3rd pl. past	molken
Past participle	molk
Infinitive	melken
In genitive	melkens
In dative	melkene
Indicative	Present	Past
1st singular	melke	malc
2nd singular	melcs, melkes	molcs, molkes
3rd singular	melct, melket	malc
1st plural	melken	molken
2nd plural	melct, melket	molct, molket
3rd plural	melken	molken
Subjunctive	Present	Past
1st singular	melke	molke
2nd singular	melcs, melkes	molkes
3rd singular	melke	molke
1st plural	melken	molken
2nd plural	melct, melket	molket
3rd plural	melken	molken
Imperative	Present
Singular	melc, melke
Plural	melct, melket
	Present	Past
Participle	melkende	molk

Descendants

• Dutch: melken
• Limburgish: mèlke

Further reading

• “melken”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “melken”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

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Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• melka

Noun

melken m or f

1. definite masculine singular of melk