milch
/mɪlt͡ʃ/ adjective
- adjective (dated, of a cow or other livestock) Used to produce milk; dairy.
- adjective (dated, of a mammal) Currently producing milk for its offspring.
- adjective (obsolete) Tender; pitiful; weeping.
Etymology
From Middle English milche, melche, from Old English *melċe, *milċe (attested in þrimilċe, þrimilċemōnaþ), from Proto-Germanic *milkijaz, *melkijaz from Proto-Germanic *melkaz (“milky, milk-giving”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- (“to wipe, wipe off, milk”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian meelk (“milch”), Low German melke (“milch”), German melk (“milk-giving, milch”), Alemannic German mëlch (“milch, milkable”), Icelandic milkur, mjólkur (“milk-giving”). More at milk. Compare milchig.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Giving milk; --now applied only to beasts. "Milch camels." Gen.
- adjective Tender; pitiful; weeping. [Obs.] Shak.
Etymology [OE. milche; akin to G. melk, Icel. milkr, mj, and to E. milk. See Milk.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “milch”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details