Online Encyclopedia

MEAL

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 947 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MEAL  . (I) (A word

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common to Teutonic
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languages, cf . Ger . Mehl, Du. meel; the ultimate source is the root seen in various Teutonic words meaning " to grind," and in Eng . " mill,"
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Lat. mole, molere, Gr . µal), a powder made from the edible
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part of any grain or
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pulse, with the exception of wheat, which is known as "
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flour." In
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America the word is specifically applied to the meal produced from
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Indian corn or maize, as in Scotland and Ireland to that produced from oats, while in South Africa the ears of the Indian corn itself are called " mealies." (2) Properly, eating and drinking at
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regular stated times of the day, as breakfast,
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dinner, &c., hence taking of food at any time and also the food provided . The word was in O.E. mael, which also had the meanings (now lost) of time, mark, measure, &c., which still appear in many forms of the word in Teutonic languages; thus Ger. mel, time, mark, cf . Denkmal, monument, Muhl, meal, repast, or Du. meal, Swed. mel, also with both meanings . The ultimate source is the pre-Teutonic root me- ma-, to measure, and the word thus stood for a marked-out point of time .

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THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER (1823–1867)
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