milk

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: mĭlk, IPA(key): /mɪlk/ (Canada, Inland Northern American, for some speakers) IPA(key): [mɛlk] (Southern US, for some speakers) IPA(key): [milk] Rhymes: -ɪlk, -ɛlk === Etymology 1 === From Middle English milk, mylk, melk, mulc, from Old English meolc, meoluc (“milk”), from Proto-West Germanic *meluk (“milk”), from Proto-Germanic *meluks (“milk”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- (“milk, to milk”). ==== Noun ==== milk (countable and uncountable, plural milks) (uncountable) A white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals to nourish their young. From certain animals, especially cows, it is also called dairy milk and is a common food for humans as a beverage or used to produce various dairy products such as butter, cheese, and yogurt. Synonyms: dairy milk; (often implied) cowmilk, cow's milk 2007 September 24, Chris Horseman (interviewee), Emily Harris (reporter), “Global Dairy Demand Drives Up Prices”, Morning Edition, National Public Radio […] there's going to be that much less milk available to cover any other uses. Which means whether it's liquid milk or whether it's [milk that's been turned into] cheese or yogurt, the price gets pulled up right across the board. (uncountable, by extension) A white (or whitish) liquid obtained from a vegetable source such as almonds, coconuts, oats, rice, or soy beans. Synonyms: m*lk, mylk, non-dairy milk, plant milk Hyponyms: almond milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk, hemp milk, oat milk, peanut milk, rice milk, soy milk (countable, informal) An individual serving of milk. (countable or invariant) An individual portion of milk, such as found in a creamer, for tea and coffee. The ripe, undischarged spat of an oyster. (uncountable, vulgar, slang) Semen. ===== Usage notes ===== Following a European Union (EU) court ruling in 2017, the term milk cannot legally be used to market purely plant-based products (etymology 1 sense 2) in the EU. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== milch ===== Descendants ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English milken, from Old English melcan, from Proto-Germanic *melkaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-, the same root as the noun. Compare Dutch and German melken, Danish malke, Norwegian mjølke, also Latin mulgeō (“to milk”), Ancient Greek ἀμέλγω (amélgō, “to milk”), Albanian mjel (“to milk”), Russian молоко́ (molokó), Lithuanian mélžti, Tocharian A mālk-. ==== Verb ==== milk (third-person singular simple present milks, present participle milking, simple past and past participle milked) (transitive) To express milk from (a mammal, especially a cow). (transitive, intransitive) To draw (milk) from the breasts or udder. (intransitive, transitive, rare) To secrete (milk) from the breasts or udder. (transitive) To express a liquid from a creature. (transitive, figurative) To make excessive use of (a particular point in speech or writing, a source of funds, etc.); to exploit; to take advantage of (something). July 21, 1877, "The Block in the Courts" in The Spectator They [the lawyers] milk an unfortunate estate as regularly as a dairyman does his stock. (of an electrical storage battery) To give off small gas bubbles during the final part of the charging operation. (transitive, BDSM, vulgar) To masturbate a male to ejaculation, especially for the amusement or satisfaction of the masturbator rather than the person masturbated. Synonym: masturbate ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === See also === === References === FDA standard of identity for "milk". === Anagrams === Klim == Limburgish == === Noun === milk f (East Limburgish, Southeast Limburgish) Veldeke spelling of Mele̩k == Middle English == === Alternative forms === milke, milc melke, melc (chiefly Kent and southwest Midlands) mulk, mulc (chiefly Southern and southwest Midlands) === Etymology === From Old English milc, meolc, from Proto-West Germanic *meluk, from Proto-Germanic *meluks. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /milk/ === Noun === milk (plural milks) milk ==== Descendants ==== English: milk English: (Ottawa-Valley) melk Scots: milk, melk, mylk Yola: mulk ==== References ==== “milk, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007. == Scanian == === Alternative forms === mjælk === Etymology === From Old Norse mjǫlk, from Proto-Germanic *meluks. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [méɪlk] === Noun === milk m milk