from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Milk \Milk\ (m[i^]lk), n. [AS. meoluc, meoloc, meolc, milc; akin
to OFries. meloc, D. melk, G. milch, OHG. miluh, Icel.
mj[=o]lk, Sw. mj["o]lk, Dan. melk, Goth. miluks, G. melken to
milk, OHG. melchan, Lith. milszti, L. mulgere, Gr.
'ame`lgein. [root]107. Cf. {Milch}, {Emulsion}, {Milt} soft
roe of fishes.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Physiol.) A white fluid secreted by the mammary glands of
female mammals for the nourishment of their young,
consisting of minute globules of fat suspended in a
solution of casein, albumin, milk sugar, and inorganic
salts. "White as morne milk." --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) A kind of juice or sap, usually white in color,
found in certain plants; latex. See {Latex}.
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3. An emulsion made by bruising seeds; as, the milk of
almonds, produced by pounding almonds with sugar and
water.
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4. (Zool.) The ripe, undischarged spat of an oyster.
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{Condensed milk}. See under {Condense}, v. t.
{Milk crust} (Med.), vesicular eczema occurring on the face
and scalp of nursing infants. See {Eczema}.
{Milk fever}.
(a) (Med.) A fever which accompanies or precedes the first
lactation. It is usually transitory.
(b) (Vet. Surg.) A form puerperal peritonitis in cattle;
also, a variety of meningitis occurring in cows after
calving.
{Milk glass}, glass having a milky appearance.
{Milk knot} (Med.), a hard lump forming in the breast of a
nursing woman, due to obstruction to the flow of milk and
congestion of the mammary glands.
{Milk leg} (Med.), a swollen condition of the leg, usually in
puerperal women, caused by an inflammation of veins, and
characterized by a white appearance occasioned by an
accumulation of serum and sometimes of pus in the cellular
tissue.
{Milk meats}, food made from milk, as butter and cheese.
[Obs.] --Bailey.
{Milk mirror}. Same as {Escutcheon}, 2.
{Milk molar} (Anat.), one of the deciduous molar teeth which
are shed and replaced by the premolars.
{Milk of lime} (Chem.), a watery emulsion of calcium hydrate,
produced by macerating quicklime in water.
{Milk parsley} (Bot.), an umbelliferous plant ({Peucedanum
palustre}) of Europe and Asia, having a milky juice.
{Milk pea} (Bot.), a genus ({Galactia}) of leguminous and,
usually, twining plants.
{Milk sickness} (Med.), See {milk sickness} in the
vocabulary.
{Milk snake} (Zool.), a harmless American snake ({Ophibolus
triangulus}, or {Ophibolus eximius}). It is variously
marked with white, gray, and red. Called also {milk
adder}, {chicken snake}, {house snake}, etc.
{Milk sugar}. (Physiol. Chem.) See {Lactose}, and {Sugar of
milk} (below).
{Milk thistle} (Bot.), an esculent European thistle ({Silybum
marianum}), having the veins of its leaves of a milky
whiteness.
{Milk thrush}. (Med.) See {Thrush}.
{Milk tooth} (Anat.), one of the temporary first set of teeth
in young mammals; in man there are twenty.
{Milk tree} (Bot.), a tree yielding a milky juice, as the cow
tree of South America ({Brosimum Galactodendron}), and the
{Euphorbia balsamifera} of the Canaries, the milk of both
of which is wholesome food.
{Milk vessel} (Bot.), a special cell in the inner bark of a
plant, or a series of cells, in which the milky juice is
contained. See {Latex}.
{Rock milk}. See {Agaric mineral}, under {Agaric}.
{Sugar of milk}. The sugar characteristic of milk; a hard
white crystalline slightly sweet substance obtained by
evaporation of the whey of milk. It is used in pellets and
powder as a vehicle for homeopathic medicines, and as an
article of diet. See {Lactose}.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Milk sickness \Milk sickness\ (Veter., Med.)
A peculiar malignant disease, occurring in parts of the
western United States, and affecting certain kinds of farm
stock (esp. cows), and persons using the meat or dairy
products of infected cattle. Its chief symptoms in man are
uncontrollable vomiting, obstinate constipation, pain, and
muscular tremors. Its origin in cattle has been variously
ascribed to the presence of certain plants in their food, and
to polluted water.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]