Etymology

ODan (i) mellæ, OSwed (i) mälle < the dat. sg. of PGmc *meðal-; cp. OIcel nom. sg. meðal-, OHG metal and the related OE middel, OFris middel, OS middil, OHG mittil, OIcel á milli (*miðill), OSw midhel < PGmc *miðil-. The ME form in /e/ may derive from a distinctively OEN form (Bj. and McGee 519-20).

PGmc Ancestor

dat. sg. of PGmc *meðal-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

nom. sg. meðal-
(ONP meðal (prep.); milli (prep.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far meðal, miðil, Icel meðal, ODan and Sw medel; Far millin, millum, Ice milli, Norw mellan, Dan mellom, mellem, Sw mellan

OE Cognate

middel 'middle, centre'

Phonological and morphological markers

syncope

ON fricative /&eth;/ &lt; PGmc */&eth;/

ON consonant cluster assimilation

Summary category

A1*c

Attestation

ME melle is attested only in forms of the prepositional/adverbial phrase inn ~ (emelle), and is distinctively N/NM (the prep. is used as a N word by Chaucer in CT.Rv.; see MED s.v. emel(le (prep.)). McGee (519–20) suggests further that it may have been regarded as a NW word. MnE N dial.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 1451; Pe 1127; WA 4263, 4613

Notice that Madden and Morris misinterpreted this word at Gaw 1451, glossing it s.v. melle, melly ‘conflict, battle’, i.e. as if it were an instance of ME melly, mellé < early Fr mellée, meslée.  But we should expect the spelling <melly> for the latter, and the rhyme evidence for Gaw 1451 (on quelle and ʒelle) rules out identifying melle with it.

Bibliography

MED emel(le (adv.) , MED emel(le (prep.) , OED imelle (prep. and adv.) , EDD mell (prep. and sb.), Dance melle, Bj. 171, 286, DP 25, de Vries meðal; milli, millim, milllum, Mag. meðal (2); milli (1), Orel *með(a)lan ~ *meðilan, AEW middel