English Explanatory Dictionary

milt

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The spleen, especially of an animal bred for food.
  2. The semen of a male fish.
  3. The engorged testis containing a filled reservoir of mature spermatozoa in a male fish.
verb
  1. To impregnate (the roe of a fish) with milt.

Pronunciation

/mɪlt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-milt.wav

Word forms

milt milts milting milted

Etymology

From Middle English milte, from Old English milte, milt (“milt, spleen”), from Proto-West Germanic *miltijā, *meltā, from Proto-Germanic *meltǭ (“spleen”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“to beat, grind, crush, weaken”). Cognate with German Milz, Dutch milt, Danish milt, Norwegian milt, Swedish mjälte. Outside Germanic, with Albanian mëlçi (“liver”) and Italian milza (“spleen”), which is a borrowing from Lombardic.

Synonyms

spleen lien soft roe white roe

Related words

miltsiekte miltz

Derived words

milter milt-grown milting milt-like milt-pain milt-sick milt-sickness milt-vein miltwaste milt-wort milty
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