"M" Word Origins

Mikey

Origin

From "Mike" + the diminutive suffix "-y".

Mikhail

Hebrew

From Russian Михаил (Mikhail), ultimately from Hebrew, via Greek and Church Slavonic. A doublet of Michael.

Miki

Origin

Pet form of name

Miko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 巫女 (miko), "shrine maiden".

mil

Origin

Ultimately from Latin millesimum. The clippings come by way of the clipped words (e.g., millilitre, millimetre, milliradian). The metric units come about via clipping of translingual milli- (“SI prefix”)

Mila

Spanish

A diminutive found across Slavic languages, from names built on "Mil-" ("grace, beloved"), such as Ludmila or Milena; also used as a short form of Emily in Spanish.

milady

French

A blend of "my" and "lady," reshaped by influence from the French word milady, itself borrowed from the English phrase "my lady." Compare the male equivalent "milord."

Milan

Origin

Borrowed from the Slavic languages.

Milanese

Italian

From Italian milanese ("of Milan"), built from the city name Milano plus the adjective-forming suffix -ese, the same pattern seen in "Japanese" or "Chinese".

Milano

Origin

Not certain; see Milano § History on Wikipedia.

Milburn

Old English

From Old English mylen ("mill") plus burna ("stream, brook").

milch

Origin

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.

mild

Old English

From Old English milde ("gentle, mild"), tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to grind" or "to crush" — the idea being something worn down soft rather than rough.

mildew

Old English

From Old English mildēaw, itself a blend of an old Germanic word for "honey" and "dew" — an old poetic image for the sticky, dew-like film fungus can leave behind.

mildness

Origin

From Middle English mildenesse, from Old English mildnes, mildness, equivalent to mild + -ness. Cognate with Old High German miltnissa (“compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity”).

Mildred

Old English · 700

From Old English Mildþrȳþ, from milde ("mild") plus þrȳþ ("strength"), the name of an 8th-century English saint.

mile

Latin

From Latin mīlle passūs, "a thousand paces," shortened over time to mīlia and then borrowed into Old English as mīl.

Milena

Proto-Slavic

Ultimately from Proto-Slavic milu, meaning "dear" or "kind."

milepost

Origin

From mile + post.

miles

Latin

An informal extension of the noun mile (from Old English mīl, from Latin mīlia, "a thousand paces") — the sense of physical distance stretched into a figure of speech for "by a wide margin."

milestone

Origin

Literally "mile" plus "stone" — from the old practice of setting stone markers at mile intervals along roads.

Miley

Origin

Popularized as a first name by singer Miley Ray Cyrus, whose nickname originated from "smiley."

MILF

Origin · 1999

An acronym for "mother I'd like to..." (with a crude verb), first recorded among American college students in the early 1990s and popularised by the film American Pie (1999).

Milford

Origin

From mill + ford.

milieu

Old French

Borrowed directly from French milieu, "middle" or "surroundings," from Old French mi- ("middle") plus lieu ("place").

militant

Latin

From Latin mīlitāre, "to serve as a soldier" — the same root that gives us "military."

militarically

Origin

From militaric + -ally.

militarist

Origin

From military + -ist.

militaristic

Origin

From militarist + -ic or military + -istic.

military

Latin

From Latin mīlitāris, "of a soldier," from mīles, "soldier."

militia

Latin

From Latin mīlitia, "military service," from mīles, "soldier."

milk

Old English

From Old English meolc, going back to a very old Germanic and Indo-European root meaning "to milk."

milker

Origin

From Middle English milkere, equivalent to milk + -er.

milkie

Origin

From milk + -ie.

milking

Old English

From Middle English milkinge, the -ing form of milk, itself from Old English meolc.

milksop

Origin

From Middle English milksop, mylk sop, mylke soppe, equivalent to milk + sop.

milky

Middle English

From Middle English mylky, melky, equivalent to milk + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian moalkig (“milky”), West Frisian molkich (“milky”), Dutch melkig (“milky”), German Low German melkig (“milky”), German milchig (“milky”), Danish mælkig (“milky”), Swedish mjölkig (“milky”), Icelandic mjólkugur (“milky”). Doublet of milchig.

mill

Late Latin

From Old English mylen, borrowed from Late Latin molīnum, "mill," itself from Latin molō, "I grind."

milla

Latin

From Spanish milla, itself from Latin mīlia ("thousands"), the same root that gives English "mile."

millenarianism

Origin

From millenarian + -ism. Compare millenarism, millennianism, millennialism.

millenary

Origin

From Latin mīllēnārius.

millennial

Latin · 1991

The generational sense was coined in 1991 by American authors William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations; the older adjective sense comes from Latin mīllennium plus the suffix -al.

millennianism

Origin

From millennian + -ism.

millenniary

Origin

From millennium + -ary.

millennium

Late Latin

From Late Latin mīllennium, built from mīllennis ("of a thousand years") plus the noun-forming suffix -ium.

Miller

Origin

An English occupational surname for someone who ran a mill, later adopted as a common noun and given name.

millet

Latin

From Middle French millet, from Latin milium, both ultimately from an ancient root meaning "to grind."

Millicent

Old French

As a name, from Old French Melisende, ultimately from Germanic roots meaning roughly "strong worker." As a monetary unit, it is simply "milli-" plus "cent."