Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/259

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preserved by Goth. mizdô, ‘reward,’ the z of which, however, by the lengthening of the ĭ to ê has been lost in Teut.; OHG. mêta, OSax. méda, AS. méd (once with the normal change of s into r, meord), E. meed. Goth. mizdô, from pre-Teut. mizdhdâ, is primit. allied to Gr. μσθός, ‘wages, hire,’ OSlov. mǐzda, f., ‘wages,’ Zend mîžda, n., ‘wages,’ OInd. mîdhá (for miždhá), ‘contest, match, booty’ (orig. sense probably ‘prize,’ by inference from the Sans. adj. mîdhvás, ‘distributing lavishly’). Hence the primit. Aryan form of the cognates is mizdho-, mizdhâ-, orig. meaning ‘wages, prize.’

Mieze, f., ‘pussy,’ ModHG. only; it is either the modern Bav. pet name for Maria, ‘Mary,’ just as Hinz, the pet name for the tom-cat, is connected with Heinrich, ‘Henry,’ or it is a recent onomatopoetic form like the phonetically cognate Ital micio, and the corresponding Rom. class. The ModHG. mianuen, mauen, are also onomatopoetic forme.

Milbe, f., from the equiv. MidHG. milwe, OHG. milwa, miliwa, f., ‘mite, moth’; Goth. *milwjô, or rather *milwi, f., are wanting. To this Goth. malô, f., ‘moth,’ and OIc. mǫlr, ‘moth,’ are allied. These terms are derived from the root mel, mal, ‘to grind’; Milbe, Goth. malô, ‘the grinding (i.e., producing dust or meal) insect’; to the same root OSlov. molĭ, ‘moth,’ also belongs.

Milch, f., from the equiv. MidHG. milch, OHG. miluh, f., ‘milk’; the common Teut. term for ‘milk’; comp. Goth. miluks. f., OIc. mjólkr, f., AS. meoluc, milc, f., E. milk, Du. melk, OSax. miluk. The direct connection of the Teut. cognates. with the root melk in melken is indubitable. It is remarkable, however, that a common Aryan, or at least a West Aryan term for ‘milk’ is wanting, although the root melg, Teut. melk, ‘to milk,’ occurs in all the West Aryan languages. Gr. γάλα (stem γάλακτ-), Lat. lac (stem lact-), cannot be connected with the root melg, and OSlov. mlěko (from *melko) with its Slav. cognates must have been borrowed from the OTeut. word, since in a primit. allied word we should have expected a g instead of the k.

mild, adj., ‘mild, meek, gentle,’ from MidHG. milte, ‘friendly, kind, liberal, gracious,’ OHG. mil(illegible text)i; comp. OSax. mildi, AS. milde, E. mild, Goth. mildeis (hardly *milds), adj., ‘loving, mild’; a common

Teut. adj. of disputed origin. A word corresponding exactly in sound does not occur in the cognate languages. Lat. mollis, if it represents *molvis, *moldvis (like suâvis for *suâdvis; comp. süß); might with Teut. *mildu-, ‘mild,’ belong to the root mol, ‘to grind,’ with which also OIr. mláith (prim. form mlâti-), ‘soft, gentle,’ or OIr. meldach, ‘pleasant,’ is connected.

Milz, f., ‘milt, spleen,’ from the equiv. MidHG. milze, OHG. milzi, n.; from the HG. form are derived the Rom. cognates, Ital. milza, Span. melsa, ‘spleen.’ Corresponding forms are found in OIc. milte, n., AS. milte, n. and f.; E. milt and Du. milt signify both ‘spleen’ and ‘soft roe.’ The cognates are probably connected with the Teut. root melt (see Malz), ‘to soften, melt,’ “with respect to the properties ascribed to the spleen of manufacturing, decomposing, and liquefying the various humours of the body.” The term Milz is found in Teut. only; so too Hand, Finger, Daumen, Zehe, Leber, &c. The names of other parts of the body, such as Herz, Niere, Fuß, Arm, Rippe, have, however, a history that can be traced farther back.

minder, compar. of gering and wenig, ‘less, inferior, lower’; from MidHG. minre, minner, OHG. minniro, compar. of luzzil, ‘little, small.’ To this is allied the OHG. and MidHG. adv. min (like baȥ allied to bęȥȥiro). A common Teut. compar. formed like Goth. minniza,. adv., mins, AS. min; the corresponding superl. is Goth. minnists, OHG. minnist, MidHG. minnest, ModHG. mindest, with the d of the compar. which has been evolved in ModHG. between the n and r; the positive is wanting, as in the ease of ehr, besser, seit, &c. Since en in these cognates, as in Mann, has originated in nw for nu, the word is based on the Lat.-Gr. verbal stem minu-, whence also Lat. minor, minimus; comp. Lat. minuere, Gr. μυύω; OSlov. mĭnij, ‘minor,’ Gr. μίνυ-νθα, ‘a little while.’ The oldest form of the root is Aryan mî (mī̆), with the pres. stems mĭnâ- and mĭnu-, ‘to lessen, shorten,’ of which the OInd. would be *mẽymas (equiv. to Gr. μείων); comp. also Gr. μειόω, ‘to diminish.’

Minne, f., reintroduced in the latter half of the 18th cent. on the revival of OG. studies, from the equiv. MidHG. minne, f., ‘love,’ which became obsolete in the transition from MidHG. to ModHG.; OHG. minna, f., OSax. minna, minnia, f. ‘love,’ lit. and orig. ‘recollection, memory’;