milt

Definition

The spleen, especially of an animal bred for food.

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.

Example Sentences

• "we see that certaine apprehensions engender a blushing-red colour, others a palenesse; that some imagination doth only worke in the milt, another in the braine[…]."
• "Cancer, or the Crab, commandeth the Stomach, Limbs, Arteries, Milt, Liver and Gall."
• "Adam Kadmon had pneumonia. Friar Goat cured it by tying a bullock’s milt to the soles of the lad’s feet, and burying the milt afterwards. Adam Kadmon immediately contracted the thrush."