meal

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable) Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity (as opposed to a snack).
2. (countable) Food served or eaten as a repast.
3. (informal, uncountable) A break taken by a police officer in order to eat.
4. (countable, obsolete) A time or an occasion.

Verb

To yield or be plentiful in meal.

Verb

To defile or taint.

Synonyms

flour

food

🍽️

repast

dinner

rice

🍚

lunch

powder

table

eating

cooked rice

feast

diet

aliment

board

sustenance

nourishment

nutriment

swallow

snack

farina

uvula

banquet

lick

have a meal

ligule

fare

eat

🍽️

mealtime

foodstuff

nutrition

cooked food

mess

cooking

dough

drink

🥤

dining

feed

school meal

subsidised meal

tray of food

nosh-up

vegetable food

coarse powder

bran

bread

🍞

canteen

chow

consume

cornbread

course

Translations

repas

comida

🍽️

pasto

Mahlzeit

maaltijd

Essen

refeição

farine

Mehl

harina

Mahl

meel

àpat

cibo

🍽️

Pronounced as (IPA)

/miːl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: mel

Inherited from Old English: mǣl

Cognate with Western Frisian: miel

Cognate with Dutch: maal

Cognate with German: Mal

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: mål

Cognate with Swedish: mål

Cognate with Ancient Greek: μέτρον

Cognate with Latin: mensus

Cognate with Russian: ме́ра

Cognate with Lithuanian: mẽtas

Cognate with Old English: mǣþ

Inherited from Middle English: mele

Inherited from Old English: melu

Cognate with Western Frisian: moal

Cognate with Dutch: meel

Cognate with German: Mehl

Cognate with Albanian: miell

Cognate with Bulgarian: мливо

Cognate with Dutch: malen

Cognate with German: mahlen

Cognate with Old Irish: melim

Cognate with Latin: molō

Cognate with Lithuanian: málti

Cognate with Church Slavic: млѣти

Cognate with Ancient Greek: μύλη

Cognate with Scots: mail

Inherited from Middle English: mole

Inherited from Old English: māl

In summary

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”).