Meanings
plural buttermilks
- countableuncountableThe liquid left over after producing butter from full cream milk by the churning process, also called traditional buttermilk.
An anti-aphrodisiac, suggested in Hindu erotological literature as a way for women to negate amatory challenges, is to bathe in the buttermilk of a she-buffalo.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 52 - countableuncountableA light yellow color, like that of buttermilk.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Middle Englishbutter-melke
- Englishbuttermilk
Inherited from Middle English butter-melke, equivalent to butter + milk. Cognate with Dutch botermelk (“buttermilk”), German Buttermilch (“buttermilk”), Low German Bottermelk (“buttermilk”), Luxembourgish Bottermëllech (“buttermilk”), Plautdietsch Bottamalkj, Bottamaltj, Bottermalkj, Bottermaltj (“buttermilk”), and Yiddish פּוטערמילך (putermilkh), פּוטער־מילעך (puter-milekh, “buttermilk”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَخِيض, مَمْخُوض
- مَخِيض (maḵīḍ)traditional buttermilk
- مَمْخُوض (mamḵūḍ)traditional buttermilk
- دُوغ (dūḡ)cultured buttermilk
Bulgarian мъ́теница
- мъ́теница (mắtenica)traditional buttermilk
Catalan sèrum de mantega
- sèrum de mantegatraditional buttermilk
Chinese Mandarin 酪乳, 酪漿 /酪浆
- 酪乳 (làorǔ)traditional buttermilk
- 酪漿 /酪浆 (làojiāng)traditional buttermilk
- 發酵酪乳 /发酵酪乳 (fājiào làorǔ)cultured buttermilk
Czech podmáslí
- podmáslítraditional buttermilk
Danish kærnemælk
- kærnemælktraditional buttermilk
Dutch karnemelk, botermelk
- karnemelktraditional buttermilk
- botermelktraditional buttermilk
- botermelkcultured buttermilk
Esperanto buterlakto
- buterlaktotraditional buttermilk
Estonian pett, petipiim
- petttraditional buttermilk
- petipiimtraditional buttermilk
- võipiimtraditional buttermilk
Finnish kirnupiimä, piimä
- kirnupiimätraditional buttermilk
- piimäcultured buttermilk
French babeurre
- babeurretraditional buttermilk
German Buttermilch
- Buttermilchtraditional buttermilk
Greek βουτυρόγαλα, ξινόγαλα
- βουτυρόγαλα (voutyrógala)traditional buttermilk
- ξινόγαλα (xinógala)cultured buttermilk
Hawaiian wai koʻana waiū paka
- wai koʻana waiū pakatraditional buttermilk
Hebrew חובצה \ חֻבְצָה
- חובצה \ חֻבְצָה (khuvtsá)traditional buttermilk
Hindi छाछ, मट्ठा
- छाछ (chāch)traditional buttermilk
- मट्ठा (maṭṭhā)traditional buttermilk
- छाछ (chāch)cultured buttermilk
Hungarian író
- írótraditional buttermilk
Icelandic áfir
- áfirtraditional buttermilk
Irish bláthach
- bláthachtraditional buttermilk
Italian latticello
- latticellotraditional buttermilk
Japanese バターミルク
- バターミルク (batāmiruku)traditional buttermilk
Korean 버터밀크
- 버터밀크 (beoteomilkeu)traditional buttermilk
Latvian paniņas
- paniņastraditional buttermilk
Norwegian Bokmål kjernemelk, kjernemjølk
- kjernemelktraditional buttermilk
- kjernemjølktraditional buttermilk
Persian دوغ, پینو
- دوغ (duġ)traditional buttermilk
- پینو (pinu)traditional buttermilk
Polish maślanka, maślanka
- maślankatraditional buttermilk
- maślankacultured buttermilk
Portuguese leitelho, soro de manteiga
- leitelhotraditional buttermilk
- soro de manteigatraditional buttermilk
- leitelho cultivadocultured buttermilk
Punjabi ਛਾਹ, ਲੱਸੀ
- ਛਾਹ (chāh)traditional buttermilk
- ਲੱਸੀ (lassī)traditional buttermilk
Romanian zară
- zarătraditional buttermilk
Russian па́хта, батерми́лк
- па́хта (páxta)traditional buttermilk
- батерми́лк (batermílk)cultured buttermilk
Scottish Gaelic blàthach
- blàthachtraditional buttermilk
Slovak cmar
- cmartraditional buttermilk
Spanish suero de mantequilla, suero de mantequilla
- suero de mantequillatraditional buttermilk
- suero de mantequillacultured buttermilk
Swedish kärnmjölk
- kärnmjölktraditional buttermilk
Tamil மோர், மோர்
- மோர் (mōr)traditional buttermilk
- மோர் (mōr)cultured buttermilk
Turkish yayık ayranı
- yayık ayranıtraditional buttermilk
Ukrainian масля́нка, сколо́тини
- масля́нка (masljánka)traditional buttermilk
- сколо́тини (skolótyny)traditional buttermilk
Urdu چھاچھ
- چھاچھ (chāch)traditional buttermilk
Vietnamese kho thực phẩm
- kho thực phẩmtraditional buttermilk
Welsh llaeth enwyn, enwyn
- llaeth enwyntraditional buttermilk
- enwyntraditional buttermilk
Yiddish פּוטערמילך, פּוטער־מילעך
- פּוטערמילך (putermilkh)traditional buttermilk
- פּוטער־מילעך (puter-milekh)traditional buttermilk
- מאַסלינקע (maslinke)traditional buttermilk
- מאַסליאַנקע (maslyanke)traditional buttermilk
- מאַשלינקע (mashlinke)traditional buttermilk
Cite this entry
buttermilk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buttermilk
“buttermilk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buttermilk. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “buttermilk,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buttermilk.
Source: buttermilk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.