meat
/miːt/
noun
Origin
Proto-Germanic
*matiz — food, nourishment
Overview
Meaning Now
- The flesh of an animal as food.
- The edible part of something, as a nut or fruit, inside a shell or rind.
Literal older meaning
food, nourishment
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
mete
Earliest period
Old English period (c. 9th century)
Journey
Originally, the Old English word 'mete' referred to any form of solid food or nourishment, similar to the modern Swedish 'mat' or Danish 'mad'. The restriction of the meaning to 'animal flesh' occurred gradually during the late Middle English period.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*matiz
“food”
- Old English
mete
“food, victuals”
Still applied to any solid food.
- Middle English
mete
“food, animal flesh”
Shift begins to focus on animal flesh.
- Early Modern English
meat
“animal flesh for food”
Connections
Word parts
meat
root
flesh used as food
Related across languages
Old Norse
matr
food
Gothic
mats
food
Swedish
mat
food
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.