Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “Müll” come from?

Müll (German) comes from English mull, from Middle English mollen, from Old French moillier, from Vulgar Latin molliare, from Latin molliāre, from Latin mollis, from Latin molduis, from Proto-Italic moldus — to soften, to melt.

Müll (German): trash, garbage, refuse, waste, junk; nonsense

Definitions

  1. trash, garbage, refuse, waste, junk; nonsense

Ancestry of “Müll”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmullTo work mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate; To...
2Middle Englishmollento soften by wetting
3Old Frenchmoillierto wet
4Vulgar Latinmolliareto soften by soaking; second-person singular...
5Latinmolliāre—
6Latinmollissoft, delicate to the touch; pliant, flexible,...
7Latinmolduis—
8Proto-Italicmoldus—
9Proto-Indo-European*ml̥dus—
10Proto-Indo-European(s)meld-to soften, to melt

Words derived from “Müll”

  • Müllwagen
  • Müllmann
  • Weltraummüll
  • Restmüll
  • Müllfrau
  • Müllverbrennung
  • Müllverbrennungsanlage
  • Mülleimer
  • Müllplatz
  • Mülltrennung
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meld- →