veal

C2+ Topic:Food & Drink

US /vil/ UK /viːl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like wheel /v/ vs /w/ Sounds like weal /v/ vs /w/

Meanings

1

noun
the flesh of a young calf used as meat

The chef braised the veal slowly in white wine and herbs.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the flesh of a young calf... calf

Word family

Related forms vellumvituline

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman 'veel', Old French 'veel' ('calf'), from Latin 'vitellus' ('little calf'), diminutive of 'vitulus' ('calf').

veel Old French vitulus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# veal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /vil/
**IPA (UK):** /viːl/

## Meanings
1. the flesh of a young calf used as meat

## Examples
- The chef braised the veal slowly in white wine and herbs.

## Synonyms
- calf

## Related Forms
- vellum
- vituline

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: veel
- Root: vitulus

## Etymology
From Anglo-Norman 'veel', Old French 'veel' ('calf'), from Latin 'vitellus' ('little calf'), diminutive of 'vitulus' ('calf').

## AI Etymology
Veal comes from Anglo-Norman 'veel', Old French 'veel' ('calf'), from Latin 'vitellus' ('little calf'), diminutive of 'vitulus' ('calf'). In current use it is a noun meaning "the flesh of a young calf used as meat". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. A diminutive element is part of the history, marking a smaller or derived form. The historical chain includes Old French veel and Latin vitulus. Related English forms include vellum and vituline. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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