English
Millman
Millman comes from Middle English mele ‘meal, flour’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to beat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-‘to beat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-wo-mreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*melwą‘ground corn, meal, flour’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*melu‘ground corn, meal, flour’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150melu‘flour’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mele‘meal, flour’
- EnglishtodayMillman
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-‘to beat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-wo-mreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*melwą‘ground corn, meal, flour’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*melu‘ground corn, meal, flour’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150melu‘flour’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mele‘meal, flour’
- EnglishtodayMillman
The story
Older senses (presumably for a grinder or vendor of meal) derive from Middle English mele (‘meal, flour’) + manne. There is a Jewish variant Milman.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to beat’
meal, miller, mold, mole, mild, mould, mule, camo, muller, molar, melatonin, bonanza, mullet, moulin, mull, amalgam, moline, maelstrom, malleable, martel, millet, amyl, malm, 39 more
Today it means
name A surname originating as an occupation for someone who worked in a mill.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- / Millman