milch: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Formal, Literary, Archaic
Quick answer
What does “milch” mean?
a cow kept for milk production.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
a cow kept for milk production; yielding milk.
Relating to or producing a supply of something valuable or continuous, such as resources or information.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Equally rare and archaic in both varieties. Slight preference for 'dairy cow' in AmE, while 'milch cow' might be marginally more recognised in BrE due to historical literary exposure.
Connotations
Connotes old-fashioned farming, literature, or economics. The metaphorical use ('a milch cow for the government') carries a slightly pejorative sense of being exploited.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in contemporary corpora. Almost exclusively encountered in historical texts, economic commentary, or deliberate archaisms.
Grammar
How to Use “milch” in a Sentence
[Adj.] + cow/animal (milch cow)the + N + of + NP (the milch cow of the industry)Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “milch” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- The farmer's few milch cows were his most valuable assets.
- It was primarily a milch herd, not bred for beef.
American English
- He inherited a small farm with a dozen milch cows.
- The study compared milch goat breeds.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Metaphor for a business division or asset that generates steady, reliable cash flow.
Academic
Used in historical or agricultural studies discussing pre-industrial farming practices.
Everyday
Virtually never used in casual conversation.
Technical
May appear in specialised agricultural texts or economic reports describing revenue sources.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “milch”
- Using it as a verb (*'to milch a cow' – correct is 'to milk a cow').
- Spelling as 'miltch' or 'milsh'.
- Using it in modern contexts where 'dairy' is expected.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is considered archaic or highly specialised. The adjective 'dairy' (as in 'dairy cow') or the phrase 'milk cow' are the modern equivalents.
No. The verb is 'to milk'. 'Milch' is exclusively an adjective (attributive) or part of a compound noun ('milch cow').
It refers to a person, project, or asset that is exploited as a reliable source of money, profit, or resources, often with a connotation of unfair or repetitive draining.
It comes from Old English 'milce', 'milci', related to 'meolc' (milk). It is cognate with German 'melken' (to milk) and Dutch 'melk'.
a cow kept for milk production.
Milch is usually formal, literary, archaic in register.
Milch: in British English it is pronounced /mɪltʃ/, and in American English it is pronounced /mɪltʃ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a milch cow (for someone/something)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'milch' sounding like 'milk' with a 'ch' – it's the 'ch' cow that gives you milk.
Conceptual Metaphor
A SOURCE OF SUSTENANCE/PROFIT IS A MILCH ANIMAL (e.g., 'The patent became the company's milch cow').
Practice
Quiz
In modern English, the word 'milch' is best described as: