Where does “milk tooth” come from?

milk tooth (English) comes from English milk, from Middle English milk, from Old English meolc, from Proto-West Germanic meluk, from Proto-Germanic meluks, from Proto-Indo-European h₂melǵ- — to milk; milk.

milk tooth (English): Any tooth of the first set of teeth of young people (or animals)

Definitions

  1. Any tooth of the first set of teeth of young people (or animals)

Ancestry of “milk tooth”, step by step

milk tooth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English milk

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmilkA white liquid produced by the mammary glands of...
2Middle Englishmilkmilk
3Old Englishmeolcmilk
4Proto-West Germanicmelukmilk
5Proto-Germanicmeluksmilk
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂melǵ-to milk; milk

via English tooth

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtoothA hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth...
2Middle EnglishtothAlternative form of tothe
3Old Englishtōþtooth
4Proto-Germanictanþstooth
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃dóntstooth
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ed-to eat
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂melǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic meluks →Every word from Proto-West Germanic meluk →