< Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic
Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/meluks
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This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed words 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 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
- IPA(key): /ˈme.luks/
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
Related terms
- *melhtaz
- *milhtiją
- *melkaną
- *melkaz
- *melukaz
Descendants
- Old English: meolc, meoluc, milc
- Old Frisian: melok
- Old Saxon: miluk
- Old Dutch: miluk, miloch
- Old High German: miluh
- Old Norse: mjǫlk, mjolk
- Icelandic: mjólk
- Faroese: mjólk
- Norwegian Bokmål: mjølk
- Norwegian Nynorsk: mjølk
- Norwegian: (dialectal) mjelk, mjælk (taken from Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB) [ “melk” (SITATER): ]
- Old Swedish: miolk, miølk
- Swedish: mjölk
- Old Danish: mialk, miælk, mælk, miølk
- Westrobothnian: mjólk, mjalk, mjölk
- Elfdalian: mjok
- Gutnish: mjalk, mjälk, mjölk
- Scanian: milk, mjælk
- Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐌻𐌿𐌺𐍃 (miluks)
- → Samic: *mielkkē
- → 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, 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
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