Prolactin
/ˌproʊˈlæk.tɪn/noun
A hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates milk production.
Did you know?Prolactin was coined in the 1930s from Latin roots meaning “to bring forth milk,” so the word itself is a scientific invention with a quietly ritual, generative feel.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*melg-
“to milk or stroke (the ancestral source of milk-related vocabulary)”
Latin
Latin
lac, lactis
“milk”
Latin
Latin
pro-
“forward, forth”
1930s
English
prolactin
“a hormone named for its role in promoting milk secretion”
Modern English
English
prolactin
“the pituitary hormone that stimulates milk production”