meal

1 of 3

noun (1)

: an act or the time of eating a portion of food to satisfy appetite

: the portion of food eaten at a meal

meal

2 of 3

: the usually coarsely ground and unbolted seeds of a cereal grass or pulse

especially : cornmeal

: a product resembling seed meal especially in particle size or texture

-meal

3 of 3

: by a (specified) portion or measure at a time

piecemeal

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English meel appointed time, meal, from Old English mǣl; akin to Old High German māl time, Latin metiri to measure — more at measure

Noun (2)

Middle English mele, from Old English melu; akin to Old High German melo meal, Latin molere to grind, Greek mylē mill

Adverb combining form

Middle English -mele, from Old English -mǣlum, from mǣlum, dative plural of mǣl

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of meal was before the 12th century