# γάλα
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* γλάγος (glágos)

### Etymology

Possibly inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gláktn̥ (“milk”) (compare Latin lact, Old Armenian կաթն (katʻn), Albanian dhallë), earlier *glákt (or, if the Hittite cognate is valid, *gláktr̥), perhaps from a root *glag- +‎ *-tr̥, but the phonetic irregularities, presence of *a, and Mediterranean distribution of this word have cast doubt on its existence in PIE. Instead, it may have been borrowed from an agricultural wanderword related to or descended from Hittite 𒂵𒌨𒋻 (galaktar, “soothing substance, nutrient”), itself possibly derived from 𒅗𒆷𒀭𒃰𒁺 (galank-, “to soothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *gleǵʰ- (“soft, weak”); cf. Bulgarian гле́зя (glézja, “to pamper”). However, Beekes doubts that there is any connection with the Hittite.
The variant γλάγος (glágos) was contracted from the second oblique stem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡá.la/ → /ˈɣa.la/ → /ˈɣa.la/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /ɡá.la/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈɡa.la/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈɣa.la/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈɣa.la/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈɣa.la/

### Noun

γᾰ́λᾰ • (gắlă) n (genitive γᾰ́λᾰκτος or γᾰ́λᾰκος); third declension
* milk
* milky sap
* the Milky Way galaxy

#### Usage notes

Sometimes indeclinable.

#### Derived terms

* γαλακτικός (galaktikós)
* γαλάκτινος (galáktinos)
* γαλάκτιον (galáktion)
* γαλακτοφάγος (galaktophágos)
* γαλαξίας (galaxías)
* γλαγάω (glagáō)
* ὀξύγαλα (oxúgala)

#### Descendants

* Greek: γάλα (gála)
* Mariupol Greek: га́ла (hála)

### References

* ↑ Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008) “kalank-$^i$”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 5), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 428
* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “γάλα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 256: “IE *glkt(-)”

### Further reading

* “γάλα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “γάλα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “γάλα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* γάλα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
* γάλα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* γάλα in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
* “γάλα”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G1051 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited. milla idem, page 529.

## Greek
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek γάλα (gála), from Proto-Indo-European *glakt-, *galakt-.
Cognate with Mariupol Greek га́ла (hála).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɣala]
* Hyphenation: γά‧λα

### Noun

γάλα • (gála) n (plural γάλατα)
* milk
    κατσικίσιο γάλα ― katsikísio gála ― goat's milk

#### Declension

There is a rare genitive singular γάλατος (gálatos) and the genitive plural γαλάτων (galáton) is uncommon

#### Coordinate terms

* μιλκ σέικ n (milk séik, “milkshake”)
* εβαπορέ n (evaporé, “evaporated milk”)

#### Related terms

* βουτυρόγαλα f (voutyrógala, “buttermilk”)
* γαλακτοπωλείο n (galaktopoleío, “dairy”)
* γαλατάδικο n (galatádiko, “dairy”)
* γαλατάς m (galatás, “milkman”)
* κρέμα γάλακτος f (kréma gálaktos, “dairy cream”)
* πρωτόγαλα f (protógala, “colostrum”)
* σκονόγαλα f (skonógala, “powdered milk”)
* συμπυκνωμένο γάλα f (sympyknoméno gála, “condensed milk”)

#### Further reading

* γάλα, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language