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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by denton-scratch on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @04:53AM (#35625928)
> windmill = molino

I don't know Spanish, but "molino" looks like French "moulin", which is a mill; a windmill is "moulin a vent".

So I reckon "very different" is an exaggeration.

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by roveo on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:02AM (#35625979)
I imagine this word should be of Indoeuropean origin, Eastern Slav words for a mill also contain m-l-n (e.g. melnitsa).

Modern English lost the "n" part, but it was present in Middle English, milne.

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by ivanhoe on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:15AM (#35626050)
yes, it's "mlin" or "mlyn" in a number of Slavic languages, and I just looked up it's etymology in Serbian and the book says it comes from old slavic "mъlinъ" which they say comes from the Latin root "molinum"
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by ivanhoe on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:08AM (#35626013)
and Italian "il mulino"... it all comes from Latin "molinum" for the mill (and "mola" for the grind stone used in mills)
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by yobbo on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @07:17AM (#35626803)
The name of Thor's hammer "mjolnir" (as english speakers would see it) did not come through latin though, so the the version of the word in germanic languages was inherited independently.

"Mjolnir" means something like "crusher" and the noun "mjol" (flour) means "having been ground up". For example, it can be combined as vetemjöl (wheat flour) or stenmjöl (ground stone or stone powder).

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by denton-scratch on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @08:01AM (#35627077)
> the noun "mjol" (flour) means "having been ground up"

Ah - "mjol" as flour must be cognate with "meal". I hadn't previously associated meal with mills, but it makes sense.

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by hnbad on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @09:10AM (#35627701)
As another data point: meal/flour is "Mehl" in German. Mehl/meal is milled in a Mühle/mill.
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by Ichthypresbyter on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @10:54PM (#35635822)
Flour was originally only the highest quality grade- the "flower"- of ground grain.
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by vidarh on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @10:01AM (#35628244)
Meal appears to be a cognate of Old Norse "mál" ("mål", "måltid" - meal, meal time - in modern Norwegian) rather than mjol. Compare also Mehl (flour) vs Mahl (meal) in German.
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by yobbo on Friday April 21, 2023 @11:44AM (#35655497)
Both meanings exist in English - "stonemeal" or "oatmeal" for example.
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by pezezin on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @06:19AM (#35626412)
Yes, "molino" is just mill. Windmill would be "molino de viento" and watermill "molino de agua".
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by NeoTar on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @06:39AM (#35626532)
An in German - Mühle... in fact the English Mill is pretty close too!
Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by stratosgear on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @08:30AM (#35627307)
And in Greek: μύλος. With latin characters: milos. So it seems the root of the word is the same...