meal
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English mel, from Old English mǣl (“measure, time, occasion, set time, time for eating, meal”), from Proto-West Germanic *māl, from Proto-Germanic *mēlą, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Cognate with West Frisian miel, Dutch maal (“meal, time, occurrence”), German Mal (“time”), Mahl (“meal”), Norwegian Bokmål mål (“meal”), Swedish mål (“meal”); and (from Proto-Indo-European) with Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”), Latin mensus, Russian ме́ра (méra, “measure”), Lithuanian mẽtas. Related to Old English mǣþ (“measure, degree, proportion”).
Inflected forms:
form: meals
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: Breakfast is the morning meal, lunch is the noon meal, and dinner, or supper, is the evening meal.
c1450, Secreta Secretorumː
He that will cast meal upon meal is not able to have (a) long life.
c1500, The King and the Hermitː
I have been there and taken deal / And have had many (a) merry meal.
1535?, Dyfference Astronː
But above all things beware that thou eat not till thou feel thy stomach empty and that it hath made good digestion of the first meal.
1569, Fenton, Wondersː
Besides he was so fantastical and unruly in his appetites, that he used no common meats at his meals, but was fed with the combs of cocks, the tongues of peahens.
Ere we will eate our Meale in feare, and ſleepe / In the affliction of theſe terrible Dreames, / That ſhake vs Nightly: […]
SIR, I was thrice at Lamhith, to haue dined with the Archeb. sins your departure, and still he was to dine, at the Court or with some Bishop. But I must and will finde him assoone as I may: and rather at a meale, then otherwise, because I would haue meanes, to participat at large, about our Collation: […]
1640, Richard Brathwait, Ar't asleep Husband? A BOULSTER LECTURE, Stored with all variety of witty Jests, merry Tales, and other pleasant passages; extracted from the choycest Flowers of Phi∣losophy, Poesy, ancient and moderne Historyː
Give me but so many meals, and thou shalt find me one of the strongest Turkish males that ever English gennet bore.
1796, Robert Bage, Hermsprong: or, Man As He Is Notː
This letter was written whilst my hostess of the George was preparing the last meal I ever was to eat.
1835, Edgar Allan Poe, The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaallː
Puss, who seemed in a great measure recovered from her illness, now made a hearty meal of the dead bird, and then went to sleep with much apparent satisfaction.
Indeed, the worthy gentleman, stimulated perhaps by the immediate prospect of being in active service, was in great spirits and good-humour; in proof whereof it may be here remarked that he humorously drank all the beer at a draught, and did not utter, on a rough calculation, more than four-score oaths during the whole progress of the meal.
After the meal, he rinsed the cans they had eaten from (marveling again at his own water extravagance), and when he turned around, Jake was asleep again.
Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
2016, Melissa Clark, Consider This Permission to Eat Burrata for Dinner in The New York Timesː
In this recipe, I go even further, adding a robust salad to turn a lone cheese into a satisfying summer meal.
gloss: Food served or eaten as a repast.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: a1450, The Macro Playsː
If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me.
This is the meal pleasantly set . . . . this is the meat and drink for natural hunger, / It is for the wicked just the same as the righteous . . . .
Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.
gloss: A break taken by a police officer in order to eat.
pos: noun
tags: informal
uncountable
examples: They [tape recorders] can be turned off while officers are on meal or in the car to protect their private conversations […]
“I was on meal when I heard the call on the radio and recognized the address. What the hell?”
gloss: A time or an occasion.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
examples: Ye wolde wepe at every mele;
But for my sone wepe ye never a dele.
You would weep at every meal, but for my son you never weep a deal.
[…] by occasion whereoff thai woll than at every mele groche with the kinge […]
[…] by occasion whereof they will, then at every meal, grouch with the king […]
a1450, Henry Lovelich, The History of the Holy Grailː
Which was to them a sorry meal.
a1450, Henry Lovelich, Merlinː
Also soon as the dragons together feal, betwixt them shall begin a sorry meal.
a1450, The York Playsː
What mean ye.. to make mourning at ilk a meal?
1481, William Caxton, Reynard the Foxː
I shall do late you have so much that ten of you should not eat it at one meal.
a1500, Alexander-Cassamus Fragmentː
Of all the day throughout, keep I no better meal than on her to think.
c1500, In A Chyrchː
Thou couth well weep at every meal.
Synonyms: meal
mese
refection
repast
Related words: chips with everything
meat and three
meat and two veg
meat and potatoes
:Category:Meals
Derived words: barium meal
box meal
cat in the meal-tub
cheat meal
daymeal
enjoy your meal
family meal
full-course meal
guestmeal
happy meal
Indian meal moth
intermeal
intrameal
last meal
main meal
make a meal of
make a meal out of
malt-o-meal
-meal
meal deal
mealer
meal marker
meal prep
mealprep
meal station
Meal Team Six
meal ticket
mealtide
mealtime
meal voucher
mealware
microwave meal
midmeal
miss-meal colic
night meal
nonmeal
packed meal
plate meal
postmeal
premeal
ready meal
school meal
square meal
struggle meal
Thomas meal
undermeal
mealless
Translations: