Milt

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɪlt/
• Rhymes: -ɪlt

Origin

From Old English milte, milt ("milt, spleen"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- ("to beat, grind, crush, weaken"). Cognate to German Milz, Dutch milt, Danish milt, Norwegian milt, Swedish mjölke. Outside Germanic, with Albanian mëlçi ("liver").

Full definition of milt

Noun

1. The spleen, especially of an animal bred for food.
• 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:we see that certaine apprehensions engender a blushing-red colour, others a palenesse; that some imagination doth only worke in the milt, another in the braine ....
• 1983, Robert Nye, The Facts of Life:Adam Kadmon had pneumonia. Friar Goat cured it by tying a bullock’s milt to the soles of the lad’s feet, and burying the milt afterwards. Adam Kadmon immediately contracted the thrush.
2. Fish semen.

Derived terms

Related terms

• miltsiekte
• miltz

Synonyms

• (fish semen) soft roe, white roe

Verb

1. (transitive) To impregnate (the roe of a fish) with milt.