Standard Lemma guide

milch

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /mɪlt͡ʃ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪltʃ
  • CMU ARPABET: M IH1 L CH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Used to produce milk; dairy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Currently producing milk for its offspring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Tender; pitiful; weeping.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

giving milk; bred or suitable primarily for milk production

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • milch goats, milch camels

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: sağmal — giving milk
  • Bulgarian: доен (doen) — giving milk
  • Czech: dojný — giving milk
  • Finnish: lypsävä — giving milk
  • Finnish: lypsy- — giving milk
  • German: melk — giving milk
  • German: mëlch — giving milk
  • Gujarati: દૂઝણું (dūjhṇũ) — giving milk
  • Icelandic: mjaltur — giving milk
  • Irish: bleacht — giving milk
  • Irish: bainne — giving milk
  • Old Norse: mjaltr — giving milk
  • Persian: دنو (danu) — giving milk
  • Polish: dojny — giving milk
  • Polish: mleczny — giving milk
  • Russian: до́йная (dójnaja) — giving milk
  • Turkish: sağmal — giving milk
  • Welsh: blith — giving milk