melc

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch miluk, from Proto-Germanic *meluks, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ-.

Noun

melc f or n

1. milk

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• 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

Further reading

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

Old English

Alternative forms

• meolc, *milċe

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *melkaz. As with melcan, the monophthong is inherited; the alternative form meolc has its diphthong leveled in from the noun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /melk/, [meɫk]

Adjective

melc

1. giving milk

Declension

Declension of melc — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	melc	melc	melc
Accusative	melcne	melce	melc
Genitive	melces	melcre	melces
Dative	melcum	melcre	melcum
Instrumental	melce	melcre	melce
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	melce	melca, melce	melc
Accusative	melce	melca, melce	melc
Genitive	melcra	melcra	melcra
Dative	melcum	melcum	melcum
Instrumental	melcum	melcum	melcum

Declension of melc — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	melca	melce	melce
Accusative	melcan	melcan	melce
Genitive	melcan	melcan	melcan
Dative	melcan	melcan	melcan
Instrumental	melcan	melcan	melcan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	melcan	melcan	melcan
Accusative	melcan	melcan	melcan
Genitive	melcra, melcena	melcra, melcena	melcra, melcena
Dative	melcum	melcum	melcum
Instrumental	melcum	melcum	melcum

Descendants

• Middle English: milch, melch (both ← *milċe)
  • English: milch

Romanian

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly a substrate word from Dacian, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“soft, weak, tender”). Compare Breton melc’hwed (“snails”), Welsh malwod (“snails”), Latin mollis (“soft”), Old Armenian մեղկ (mełk, “soft, weak”). Another theory starts with the variant form melciu, which may possibly be derived from Serbian (i)mèla (“mistletoe”), with diminutive suffix -če and the meaning becoming "slimy, viscous". Other less likely ideas proposed include a substrate root *miliku or *kadmiliku, linked to Albanian kërmill (“snail”), këthmili, or from a Vulgar Latin *milax, metathetic modification of Latin limax (“slug, snail”), or a relation to the root of Latin murex, or a borrowing from Bulgarian мелък (melǎk). See also culbec.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /melk/

Noun

melc m (plural melci)

1. snail, slug

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	melc	melcul		melci	melcii
genitive-dative	melc	melcului		melci	melcilor
vocative	melcule			melcilor

Synonyms

• culbec, bourel (regional)

See also

• limax