English
Milky Way
Milky Way comes from Middle English Milky Wey.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Milky Wey
- Englishearliest quotation 1854Milky Way
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Milky Wey
- Englishearliest quotation 1854Milky Way
Earliest quotation: 1854, Henry David Thoreau, Solitude: “This whole earth which we inhabit is but a…”
The story
The reference to the galaxy is an extension of the second sense.
Every English word from Middle English Milky Wey
Today it means
name The Milky Way Galaxy, the galaxy in which Earth is located.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English Milky Wey / Milky Way