Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *mil(i̯)tiā, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- ‎(“to beat, grind, crush, weaken”). Compare Old English milte, milt ‎(“milt, spleen”), German Milz, Swedish mjälte^[1]. The term could also represent a borrowing from Italian milza ‎(“spleen”), a loanword from Germanic.