Meat Once Meant Any Food At All
Meat is animal flesh eaten as food. The Old English word covered everything edible.
Meat is the flesh of animals eaten as food. Old English *mete* meant food of any kind, which is why *sweetmeats* are sugared confections containing no flesh, why *mincemeat* is fruit, and why the old grace *meat and drink* meant simply food and drink. The narrowing to flesh happened gradually and was complete by about 1300. The *meat* of a nut and the *meat* of an argument both keep the older sense of substance.
- Animal flesh. *Red meat.*
- Food (archaic). *Meat and drink.*
- The edible part. *The meat of a nut.*
- Sweetmeat — a confection. *Sweetmeats.*
- Old English — *mete*, food. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | meat | Meat. |
| Adjective | meaty | Meaty. |
| Compound | sweetmeat | A sweetmeat. |
| Compound | mincemeat | Mincemeat. |
| Old English | mete | Food. |
- He does not eat meat.Food.
- Sweetmeats contain no flesh.Survival.
- The meat of the argument.Substance.
Words that narrowed
- Meat — from any food to flesh
- Deer — from any animal to one family
- Fowl — from any bird to poultry
- Starve — from to die to die of hunger
- Girl — from any child to a female one
Old English *mete*, food or nourishment, of Germanic origin.
Why is mincemeat made of fruit?
Because meat once meant any food. The recipe originally contained flesh but the name survived after it stopped.
What is a sweetmeat?
A sugared confection. The word uses meat in its older sense of food, with no flesh involved.