victual
Food fit for human consumptionFood fit for human (or occasionally animal) consumption.
» On a day out, walking about, a sandwich is a fine victual.
Meaning
4 senses(archaic)Food fit for human (or occasionally animal) consumption.
Lebensmittel, Nahrungsmittel, Viktualien
съестно́е
(archaic, in the plural)Food supplies; provisions.
Proviant, Vorräte, Vorrat
провиа́нтproviánt
any substance that can be used as food
(obsolete, specifically)Edible plants.
(Scotland, obsolete, specifically)Grain of any kind.
Examples
3 sentencesOn a day out, walking about, a sandwich is a fine victual.
Mary ate all her victuals.
And we get tired of living on spoon victuals and the memory of past beef-steaks.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English vitaile, vitaylle (“food; food and drink, especially as needed for susFrom Middle English vitaile, vitaylle (“food; food and drink, especially as needed for sustenance; (usually in the plural) food and drink stores or supplies; rations; provision of food and drink as a military stipend; crops”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vitaile, vitaille [and other forms] and Old French vitaile, vitaille, victaille (“food, provisions, victuals”) [and other forms] (modern French victuaille), from Late Latin vīctuālia, the neuter plural of vīctuālis (“nutritional”), from Latin vīctus (“that which sustains life, diet, nourishment, provision”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns). Vīctus is derived from vīvō (“to live; to be alive, survive; to reside in”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs).
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Forms
plural: victualsSynonyms
5 synonyms- any substance that can be used as food:comestibleedibleeatablepabulumvictuals