Yolk
/joʊk/noun
The yellow part of an egg, surrounded by the albumen and enclosed by the shell.
Did you know?Old English called the yolk geoloca, meaning “the yellow part,” from the same ancient root that produced yellow and gold.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵʰelh-
“To shine, be yellow or green”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*gelwaz
“Yellow”
Old English
Old English
geolu
“Yellow”
Old English
Old English
geoloca
“The yellow part of an egg”
Middle English
Middle English
yolke
“The yellow part of an egg”
Modern English
English
yolk
“The yellow center of an egg”