milt

Meaning

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

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

Synonyms

spleen

soft roe

fish semen

lien

liver

roe

lieno

spleno

fertilize

splenic organ

impregnate

inseminate

Pronounced as (IPA)

/mɪlt/

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.