meal

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.

   Breakfast is the morning meal, lunch is the noon meal, and dinner, or supper, is the evening meal.

2. 2
   noun

   Food served or eaten as a repast.

   a1450, The Macro Playsː If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me.

3. 3
   noun

   A break taken by a police officer in order to eat.

   They [tape recorders] can be turned off while officers are on meal or in the car to protect their private conversations […]

4. 4
   noun

   A time or an occasion.

   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.

5. 5
   noun

   The ground-up edible part of various grains, used as a basis of food or feed; either flour or a coarser blend than flour (usage varies).

   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.

6. 6
   verb

   To yield or be plentiful in meal.

   Of course the yield of grain was small, but much greater than could have been expected; and, the ears being well filled, it mealed well. The pastures were burnt up, so that there was nothing left for the cattle to eat.

7. 7
   verb

   To defile or taint.

   Were he meal'd with that / Which he corrects, than were he tyrannous.

8. 8
   noun

   coarsely ground foodstuff

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *melwą Proto-West Germanic *melu Old English melu Middle English mele English meal From Middle English mele, from Old English melu (“meal, flour”), from Proto-West Germanic *melu, from Proto-Germanic *melwą (“meal, flour”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to grind, mill”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian moal, Dutch meel, German Mehl, Albanian miell, Proto-Slavic *melvo (“grain to be ground”) (Bulgarian мливо (mlivo)), Dutch malen (“to grind”), German mahlen (“to grind”), Old Irish melim (“I grind”), Latin molō (“to grind”), T…