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geitenmelker. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
geitenmelker, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
geitenmelker in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
geitenmelker you have here. The definition of the word
geitenmelker will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
geitenmelker, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Dutch
Etymology
Compound of geit (“goat”) + -en- + melken (“to milk”) + -er, a calque of Latin caprimulgus meaning the same, which in turn represents a partial calque of Ancient Greek αἰγοθήλας (aigothḗlas). So named due to the ancient belief that nightjars stole milk from goats, a claim made in Historia animalium by Aristotle in the fourth century BC, repeated by Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD and subsequently followed by some medieval authors. In the Low Countries, the claim was notably repeated by Jacob van Maerlant, who in his thirteenth-century Der naturen bloeme refers to Pliny as a source for this claim (and naming the bird agotile, presumably after the Greek).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɣɛi̯.tə(n)ˌmɛl.kər/
- Hyphenation: gei‧ten‧mel‧ker
Noun
geitenmelker m (plural geitenmelkers)
- Synonym of nachtzwaluw (“Eurasian nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus”)