▪ I. meat, n.
(miːt)
Forms: 1 mete, mæt(e, mett, 2–8 mete, 3 mæte, 4–5 meite, mett, meyte, 4–6 meet(e, met(te, 4–7 meyt, 5 maite, mate, meett, (pl. meyttes, -is), 5–7 meate, meit, 6 Sc. meitt, 5– meat.
[OE. męte str. masc. = OFris. met(e, meit, OS. meti masc., mat neut., OHG. maȥ neut., ON. mat-r masc. (Sw. mat, Da. mad), Goth. mat-s:—OTeut. types *mati-z, *mato-, prob. repr. an original neuter *matoz-, -iz-:—pre-Teut. *mados-, -es-, perh. f. root *mē̆d- to be fat: see mast n.2
The LG. and Du. met minced meat (whence Du. metworst, G. mettwurst sausage) is prob. unconnected; cf. med.L. matia pl., tripe.]
1. a. Food in general; anything used as nourishment for men or animals; usually, solid food, in contradistinction to drink. Now arch. and dial.
green meat: grass or green vegetables used for food or fodder (see green a. 4). See also hard meat, horsemeat, whitemeat. meal of meat, meal's meat: see meal n.2 1 e.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. v. iv. (Schipper) 568 He eode on his hus & þær mete [v.r. mæte] þyᵹede. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Luke xii. 23 Sawel mara is ðonne mett. a 1050 Liber Scintill. xlvii. (1889) 153 Nys rice godes meta & drinc. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 135 Ne sculen ȝe nawiht ȝimstones leggen Swinen to mete. c 1200 Ormin 3213 Hiss drinnch wass waterr aȝȝ occ aȝȝ, Hiss mete wilde rotess. a 1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 205 Ich habbe i-suneged ine mete and ine drunche. a 1300 Cursor M. 898 Mold sal be þi mete for nede. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 206 Alas, þat so gret cost & bisynesse is sette abouten þe roten body, þat is wormes mete. c 1440 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 185 Thy mete shall be mylk, honye, & wyne. 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 76 Without Liquor no Meate is good. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xlvi. 205 These kindes of lillies are neither used in meate nor medicine. 1623 Cockeram ii, Meate of the Gods, Ambrosia, Manna. 1693 Tate in Dryden's Juvenal xv. (1697) 378 Who Flesh of Animals refus'd to eat, Nor held all sorts of Pulse for lawful Meat. 1775 Johnson Journ. W. Isl. 86 Our guides told us, that the horses could not travel all day without rest or meat. 1794 C. Smith Wanderings of Warwick 66 Sending out women and children, after a hard day's work, to collect meat for the cattle. 1819 Shelley P. Bell vii. v. 4 He had..meat and drink enough. 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm II. 709 Meat is then set down to them on a flat plate, consisting of crumbled bread and oatmeal. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xxi. 253 When..my father and my uncles lay in the hill, and I was to be carrying them their meat. 1902 Daily Chron. 12 Dec. 5/6 Imports of fruit and other choice green⁓meat. |
b. fig. in various applications. (Also in many passages of the Bible,
e.g. John iv. 32, 34, 1
Cor. iii. 2,
Heb. v. 12, and in allusions to these.)
to be meat and drink to (a person): to be a source of intense enjoyment to.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 27 Þe þridde is for mete þat ilch man agh mid him to leden þan he sal of þesse liue faren, þat is cristes holie licame. a 1340 Hampole Psalter vii. 5 Synful mannys lif is the deuels mete. 1497 Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. C j b/2 Obedyence is..the meete and comforte of all sayntes. 1533 Frith Answ. More E j, It ys meate and drinke to this childe to plaie. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. i. 11 It is meat and drinke to me to see a Clowne. 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 20 Idlenes is the meate of lust. 1693 Humours Town 5 Petty-foggers, and their Meat and Drink, the Litigious. 1837 Carlyle Misc., Mirabeau (1840) V. 139 But then his style!.. Strong meat, too tough for babes. 1855 Browning Fra Lippo 315 To find its meaning is my meat and drink. |
c. Proverbs and phrases.
| a 1529 Skelton Col. Cloute 450 Swete meate hath soure sauce. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 8 God neuer sendth mouth, but he sendeth meat. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 135, I am meat for your Master. 1616 T. Draxe Bibl. Scholast. 127 One mans meate is another mans poyson. a 1623 Fletcher Love's Cure iii. ii, What's one mans poyson, Signior, Is anothers meat or drinke. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xi. viii, My lady is meat for no pretenders. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas x. ix, Why must one man's meat be another man's poison? 1853 Mrs. Gaskell Cranford xv. 296. After that she acknowledged that ‘one man's meat might be another man's poison’. 1902 J. Conrad End of Tether xiv, in Youth 370 One man's poison, another man's meat. 1905 A. Burvenich Eng. Idioms 240 It is nuts to him; meat and drink to him, viz. the very sort of thing he likes. 1914 G. B. Shaw Misalliance 17 Whats one woman's meat is another woman's poison. 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Companions i. iii. 82 She had a trick of repeating phrases, raising her voice the second time, that had been meat and drink to mimics at Washbury for years. a 1930 D. H. Lawrence Phoenix (1936) 701 In the free, spontaneous self, one man's meat is truly another man's poison. And therefore you can't draw any average..unless you are going to poison everybody. 1937 Partridge Dict. Slang 515 Meat, the nearer the bone the sweeter the, a..low catch-phrase applied by men to a thin woman. 1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise i. 20 In spite of their poverty and the worry and anxiety attending it, they were not unhappy, and, though poor, there was nothing sordid about their lives. ‘The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat’, they used to say. 1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death xxii. 254 I'm no psycho-analyst, but I imagine she'd be meat and drink to any one who was. |
† d. Phr.
to carry meat in one's (or the) mouth, to bring in money, be a source of profit;
occas. to afford entertainment or instruction.
Obs. Perh. originally said of a hawk.
| 1580 G. Harvey Three Lett. Wks. (Grosart) I. 92 Those studies and practizes, that carrie, as they saye, meate in their mouth, hauing euermore their eye vppon the Title De pane lucrando, and their hand vpon their halfpenny. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis Ded. (Arb.) 7, I neauer..omitted yt [sc. Virgil's epithet Saturnia applied to Juno], as in deede a terme that carieth meate in his mouth. 1592 Greene Disput. Conny-catchers Wks. (Grosart) X. 269 The oldest lecher was as welcom as the youngest louer, so he broght meate in his mouth. 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. ii, A gentleman of so pleasing and ridiculous a carriage, as, euen standing, carries meat in the mouth, you see. 1668 Kirkman Eng. Rogue ii. xxxvii. (1671) 356 He bringing meat in his mouth, good store of Gold in his pocket, which he willingly and freely gave me. |
e. The edible part of fruits, nuts, eggs, etc.: the pulp, kernel, yolk and white, etc. in contradistinction to the rind, peel, or shell. ? Now only
U.S. exc. in proverbial phrase (see
quot. 1592). Also, the animal substance of a shell-fish.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 708 A stanry pere is seyd to chaunge his mete In esy lond ygraffed yf he be. 1530 Palsgr. 245/1 Meate of any frute, le bon. a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 30 A very fayer orrynge wherof the mete or substaunce within was taken owt. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. i. 25 Thy head is as full of quarrels, as an egge is full of meat. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 506 Of the meat of the Nut dried, they make oyle. 1679 J. Skeat Art Cookery 30 First take all the meat out of the lobster. 1766 Museum Rust. I. lxxxiii. 370 Low or swampy grounds don't answer well for potatoes,..the meat being generally scabby, close, wet and heavy. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xx. (1819) 313 note, The meat of a plum. 1900 Boston Even. Transcr. 29 Mar. 7/3 Force through a meat chopper with one-half pound nut-meats, using English walnut meats, pecan-nut meats. 1902 Fortn. Rev. June 1012 A bit of crab-meat. |
† 2. A kind of food, an article of food, a ‘dish’.
white meat, an article of food made with milk.
Obs. (
Cf. bake-meat, milk-meat, sweet-meat.)
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xliii. 318 Ða mettas þe God self ᵹesceop to etonne ᵹeleaffullum monnum. c 1200 Ormin 11540 Þatt time þatt himm ȝet wass ned To metess & to drinnchess. 1340 Ayenb. 51 A god huet we hedde guod wyn yesteneuen and guode metes. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. met. v. 35 (Camb. MS.), They heldyn hem apayed with the metes þat the trewe feeldes browten forth. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 315 He..Maide him gud cheyr of meyttis fresche and fyne. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (Percy Soc.) 34 Of all metes in the worlde that be By this lyght, I love best drynke. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Coccetum, a meate made of honie and popie seede. 1598 Florio, Geladia,..the meate we call gellie. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 200 They must not vse the same knife to meats made of milk, which they vsed in eating flesh. 1667 Pepys Diary 2 Sept., In discourse at dinner concerning the change of men's humours and fashions touching meats. 1726 Swift Gulliver iv. vi, He desired I would let him know, what these costly meats were. |
| fig. 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster v. i, Shun Plavtus and old Ennivs; they are meates Too harsh for a weake stomacke. |
3. a. The flesh of animals used for food; now chiefly in narrower sense
= butcher's meat,
flesh n. 4, in contradistinction to fish and poultry. Also,
local U.S., confined to certain types of meat,
usu. pork.
dark meat (
U.S.): ‘all the meat of chickens and turkeys, except the breast and wings, these being called light meat’ (Webster
Suppl. 1880).
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 637 Þe burne..by þe bred settez Mete. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. x. (1885) 132 In Fraunce the peple salten but lytill mete, except thair bacon. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. ii. ii. 57 S. Dro. I thinke the meat wants that I haue. Ant...What's that? S. Dro. Basting. 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. viii. (1701) 298/1 He Water drinks, then Broth and Herbs doth eat, To Live, his Scholars teaching, without Meat. 1727 Arbuthnot Tables Anc. Coins, etc. xviii. 190 The Vectigal Macelli, a tax upon Meat. 1793 Beddoes Sea Scurvy 59 Considering fresh meat, or the muscular part of animals, chemically, I [etc.]. 1828 Lytton Disowned Introd. 8 And, harkye, Bedos..if you eat a grain of meat I discharge you. A valet, Sir, is an ethereal being, and is only to be nourished upon chicken! 1832 J. K. Paulding Westward Ho! I. 124 Nothing is called meat in these parts but salt pork and beef. 1845 C. M. Kirkland Western Clearings 93 Venison is not ‘meat’ to be sure, in our parlance; for we reserve that term for pork, par excellence. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports 182 Thickened milk and broth, the latter with the meat of the sheep's head broken up in it. 1881 Daily News 16 Sept. 5/4 Wild ass and antelope meat are also brought in for sale. 1883 C. A. Moloney Fisheries W. Afr. 56 The cleaning, pickling, and drying process only requires ten days, when the fish, sometimes two or three inches thick in the meat, is ready for export. 1891 Fur, Fin & Feather 182 A bearskin is worth $5 to him..besides, he likes the flesh if meat (i.e. pork) is ‘skeerse’. 1902 Dialect Notes II. 239 Meat, bacon always understood. 1903 Ibid. 320 Meat,..pork. Not often applied to beef, mutton, etc. 1927 Ibid. V. 469 Meat,..ham; —used only of the hog. |
b. pl. Different kinds of meat.
| 1693 Congreve in Dryden's Juvenal xi. 22 In Shambles; where with borrow'd Coin They buy choice Meats, and in cheap plenty dine. 1841 Lane Arab. Nts. I. 110 And took to him wine to drink, and boiled meats. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 4 June 7/3 Within a fortnight the price of meats all over the country will be reduced. |
c. colloq. or
slang. (
a)
to make meat of: to kill. (
b) Something enjoyable or advantageous. Also, matter of importance or substance; the gist or main part (of a story, situation, etc.).
Cf. meaty a. 1 b.
| a 1848 G. F. Ruxton Life in Far West (1849) 4 Poor Bill Bent! them Spaniards made meat of him. 1886 Century Mag. XXXII. 701/1 There was meat in the idea, and the professor chewed it. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 28 Dec. 7/1 There is a good deal of meat for the actors. 1901 Kipling Kim xv. 390 At evening time..she won to the meat of the matter, explained low-voicedly by the lama. 1937 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLI. 1025 There was so much real meat in this paper that it was impossible to enter into any long discussion about it. 1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 129 Delving into detail, digging out the meat, and giving your advice. 1951 in M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 36/4 It is not only full of meat, but so interestingly written that I am going to loan it around the store. 1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. June 226/3 But the real meat of the book is in the depiction of the moral conflicts keenly felt by these men. 1960 Times 23 June 3/4 This makes the meat of Wimbledon. 1970 Nature 12 Sept. 1092/2 Shift registers..perform the meat of a computer calculation. |
d. Applied proleptically to living animals such as are killed for food; in early use chiefly in
† wild meat = ‘game’. In modern hunting use (
U.S.) one's quarry or prey.
| 1529 Edinb. Burgh Rec. (1871) II. 9 Nochtwithstanding William Cawder has..coft certane pluveris and vther wild meit incontrare the said statutis. 1550 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 95 The gret and exhorbitant derth of the wyld mete of this realme. 1624 Aberdeen Reg. (1848) II. 390 Great superfluitie of vennisone and wyld meat of all sortis. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. iv. 26 Others, old hunters, had the ‘meat’ in their eye. 1884 Century Mag. Dec. 198/2 The ram was my meat. |
| transf. 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It l. 357 Come along—you're my meat now, my lad. 1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights i. vii. 136 ‘Whew!’ I whistles, ‘That's a large order—But I'm your meat.’ 1917 A. G. Empey From Fire Step xvi. 103, I gleefully fell in with the scheme, and told Cassell I was his meat. 1922 A. Bennett Let. 14 Nov. (1966) I. 319 It was not everybody's meat, but it was in my opinion somebody's meat. 1922 E. O'Neill Hairy Ape (1923) iii. 29 Say, dis is a cinch! Dis was made for me! It's my meat, get me! 1942 W. E. Johns Biggles sweeps Desert v. 66 The way you snaffled my Hun! I call that a bit thick... He was my meat, absolutely, yes by Jingo. Ibid. 67 ‘You were jolly nearly his meat,’ Biggles pointed out, coldly. 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) iv. 46 ‘I Cried’ was my damn meat, just like ‘Rhythm’ was Lester's. 1972 Dict. Contemp. & Colloq. Usage (Eng.-Lang. Inst. Amer.) 19 Meat,..one's field of interest;..as: Math, that's my meat. |
e. coarse slang. The penis; the female genital organs; the human body regarded as an instrument of sexual pleasure; a prostitute.
| 1595 Gosson Pleasant Quippes sig. B2 That you should coutch your meat in dish, And others feele, it is no fish. 1597 Shakes. Henry IV: Part Two (1623) ii. iv. 83/1 Away you mouldie Rogue, away; I am meat for your Master. 1611 L. Barry Ram-Alley v. sig. H4v Faith take a maide, and leaue the widdow, Maister. Of all meates I loue not a gaping oyster. 1664 T. Killigrew Parson's Wedding v. ii, in Comedies & Tragedies 142 Your bed is big enough for two, and my meat will not cost you much. 1860–1 W. Whitman Leaves of Grass (ed. 3) 301 Feeling with the hand the naked meat of his own body. 1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 192 A bit of meat, une putain. 1967 G. Davis in W. King Black Short Story Anthol. (1972) 341 Maxine's mother was never home on Saturday mornings, so I kept Maxine's three younger brothers outside while Teddy slipped the meat to her in the bedroom. 1970 G. Greer Female Eunuch 265 It would be unbearable, but less so, if it were only the vagina that was belittled by terms like meat. 1971 B. Malamud Tenants 31 I'm not saying I don't appreciate her company, especially when my meat's frying, but not when I have something I got to write. Ibid. 136 Sam wanted the brothers to beat up on you and crack your nuts for putting the meat to his bitch. Ibid. 143 I got you in bed with nothin on you You gonna eat my meat. 1971 Black Scholar Sept. 36/1 She was in his arms..and gabbing his erect meat. 1973 D. Barnes See Woman (1974) 94 I've tried the white meat..so I can understand why you might be wondering if the dark meat isn't better. |
f. The centre (of a cricket bat, of the head of a golf club, etc.),
esp. in
phr. to hit (a ball) on or with the meat.
slang.| 1909 Westm. Gaz. 15 Jan. 4/2 If you did not take the gutta-percha ball right in the middle of the club (right ‘on the meat’, according to the modern abominable phrase) it declined to go at all. 1922 Wodehouse Clicking of Cuthbert ix. 203 You think..that lovely woman loses in queenly dignity when she fails to slam the ball squarely on the meat? 1925 Country Life 11 July 48/2 It is easy to drive a lob bowler..on the ‘meat’ or drive of the bat. 1959 R. Fuller Ruined Boys ii. ix. 143 Wilkes hit the second ball of the over with the meat of the bat. 1963 Times 28 Jan. 4/3 It was apparent that here was the severest and purest hitter in the game at the pinnacle of his form, tuning up as though the ball were tied to the meat of his racket by a string of elastic. 1974 Guardian 6 Aug. 23/2 Kitchen was well held, full off the meat, by Younis at forward short leg in Arnold's first over. |
† 4. a. A meal, repast, feast. Sometimes used for the principal meal, dinner.
Obs. exc. as in b.
| a 1175 Cott. Hom. 237 Ȝief he frend were me sceolde ȝief him his morȝe mete þat he þe bet mihte abide þane more mete. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6632 Þou shuldest nat forgete Þe pore man at þy mete. 1382 Wyclif Luke xiv. 12 Whanne thou makist a mete ether souper, nyle thou clepe thi frendis [etc.]. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 348 After the sondry sesons of the yeer, So chaunged he his mete and his soper. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 167 Whiche vse mony diversities of meites at a meite. a 1483 Liber Niger in Househ. Ord. (1790) 32 At the furst or latter mete. 1868 Morris Earthly Par., Man born to be king Argt. 50 And presently, the meat being done, He bade them bring him to his throne. |
b. In various prepositional phrases (now somewhat
arch.):
at meat (
ME. at þe,
at te mete),
† at meat and meal: at table, at one's meals. Similarly,
after meat,
before meat,
† to go to meat, etc.
| a 1175 Cott. Hom. 231 æer þanne we mid ure frienden to ðe mete go. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 67 Drinke o tiȝe atte mete and noht þer after. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1217 After mete as riȝt was þe menestraus eode aboute. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 165 This knyght..is vnarmed and vnto mete yset. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 205 He sente Unto the Senatour to come..and..sitte with him at the mete. 1425 in Entick London (1766) IV. 354 Every day, both at meet and soupier, they eat..within the said almes-house. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lxxviii. 551 Whyle we ar at oure mete. 1596 Bp. W. Barlow Three Serm. iii. 117 At sitting downe and rising from meat, they give him thankes. 1599 Nashe Lent. Stuffe 47 And then they might be at meate and meale for seuen weekes togither. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. vii. 3 Your Soldiers vse him as the Grace 'fore meate, Their talke at Table, and their Thankes at end. 1611 Bible Luke xxii. 27 For whether is greater, hee that sitteth at meat, or hee that serueth? 1621 Fletcher Pilgrim ii. ii, He's within at meat, sir; The knave is hungry. 1853–8 Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. II. 135 Those who sit at meat. 1880 Howells Undisc. Country ii. 44 She sat long at meat, morning, noon, and night. |
5. attrib. and
Comb.:
a. simple
attrib. as
meat-axe,
meat-broth,
meat can,
meat-cupboard,
meat-diet,
meat-dish,
meat-extract,
meat-inspection,
meat-jack (
= Jack n.1 7),
meat-juice,
meat-pie,
meat-platter,
meat-pudding,
meat-salesman,
meat-saw,
meat-solution,
meat-stock,
† meat-stomach,
meat-supper,
meat-tin,
meat-trade,
meat-trough,
meat-tub,
meat vat,
meat-vessel.
b. objective, as
meat-chopper,
meat-eater,
meat-eating n. and adj.,
meat-freezer,
meat-freezing,
meat-hungry adj.,
† meat keeping,
meat-packer,
meat-packing,
meat-producer,
meat-producing adj.,
meat rationing,
† meat-reiver,
meat-tenderizer.
c. instrumental, as
meat-fed adj. d. similative, as
meat-faced,
meat-pink adjs.| 1835 Haliburton Clockm. Ser. i. (1862) 237 She was..as wicked as a *meat-axe. |
| 1890 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Meat broth,..the fluid obtained by boiling meat for many hours in water. |
| 1897 Outing XXX. 284/1 For active service..the two regiments would need to be supplied with..*meat cans. |
| 1868 Mich. Agric. Rep. VII. 348, 1 lightning *meat chopper. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 302 In the course of the argument..meatchoppers..were resorted to. 1956 Amer. Speech XXXI. 87 Back-formations from nouns in -er indicating agents, such as..meat chopper. |
| 1610–11 in Anc. Invent. (Halliw. 1854) 75 The *meat cubberd, with plate. |
| 1564 P. Moore Hope Health i. ii. 3 A *mete diet may sone bee serched out. 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 601 The patient..was ordered meat-diet. |
| 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 729/8 Hic escarinus, a *metdysch. |
| 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 557 The worst instances are found..in large *meat-eaters and topers. |
| 1853 Trans. Mich. Agric. Soc. IV. 154 The Americans are notoriously a *meat eating people. 1905 Vegetarian Messenger Jan. 14 Vegetarianism v. meat-eating. 1921 G. B. Shaw Back to Methuselah ii. 77 One of his sons invented meat-eating. 1939 Dylan Thomas Map of Love 24 Sewing a shroud for a journey By the light of the meat-eating sun. 1958 A. R. Radcliffe-Brown Method in Social Anthropol. i. v. 115 The two chief meat-eating birds. |
| 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 342 Beef-tea, *meat extracts and essences..should be sparely used. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 33 The *meatfaced woman, a butcher's dame. |
| 1896 Kipling Seven Seas 51 To our five-meal, *meat-fed men. |
| 1909 Daily Chron. 2 Nov. 5/4 Australian globe-trotters, *meat-freezers, financiers. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 14 Dec. 2/1 The *meat-freezing works employ over 3,000 men. 1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 23/1 Argentina..had in 1884 the first meat-freezing works established. |
| 1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 73 Crowds of *meat-hungry Mashunas. |
| 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iii. iv, An unfortunate rusty *Meat-jack, gnarring and creaking with rust and work. |
| 1890 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Meat juice, the red fluid obtained by squeezing raw flesh; used as a nutrient. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 10/1 Almery of *mete kepynge, or a saue for mete, cibutum. |
| 1903 E. Johnson Amer. Railway Transportation 131 The large *meat-packers..own their own cars. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 7 Apr. 8/1 The strike situation between the meat packers and their employees remained unchanged this morning. 1973 Guardian 23 Feb. 18/1, I finally got a job as a meat packer on {pstlg}18 a week. |
| 1873 Rep. Iowa Agric. Soc. 1872 175 The panacea for all these ills is to be found in tanneries..*meat packing and curing houses, [etc.]. 1891 J. J. Flinn Chicago 330 Meat packing is the oldest of Chicago's industries. 1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara Pref. 179 Who chips a corner of the veneering from the huge meat packing industries of Chicago. 1974 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 28 July 16/8 Meatpacking companies have reaped most of the benefits of the present subsidy while producers received very little. |
| 1773 Johnson in Boswell 9 Apr., I generally have a *meat pye on Sunday. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. xl, He retires to the servants' hall to regale on cold meat-pie and ale. 1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie V. vii. (1891) 97 A mince pie,—or meat-pie, as it is more forcibly called in the..villages. |
| 1939 Auden & Isherwood Journey to War i. 31 Hairy, *meat-pink men. |
| 1863 ‘G. Hamilton’ Gala-Days 75, I decided upon a *meat-platter. 1916 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 2 July 7/1 (Advt.), Large Meat Platters, regular value 60 c. July Clearance each 35 c. |
| 1909 Westm. Gaz. 14 Dec. 2/1 The consumer is called upon to pay {pstlg}5,600,000, in order that..the Colonial *meat-producer may receive the negligible gift of {pstlg}350,000. 1932 J. S. Huxley Probl. Relative Growth vi. 202 Animals cannot show their full potentialities as meat-producers if kept in unfavourable nutritive conditions. Ibid. iii. 90 Meat-producing animals. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Meat-pie, *Meat-pudding, meat covered or encased with dough. |
| 1918 Times 7 Feb. 3/1 Should the currency coupon become the basis of *meat rationing, it is probable that [etc.]. |
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxiii. 44 Innoportoun askaris of Yrland kynd; And *meit revaris. |
| 1851 in Illustr. Lond. News 5 Aug. (1854) 119/2 *Meat-salesman. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Meat-saw, a saw with a thin blade strained in an iron frame, used by butchers. |
| 1877 tr. von Ziemssen's Cycl. Med. VII. 458 Only the most easily digestible diet, such as milk, *meat-solution, &c. should be allowed. |
| 1883 ‘Annie Thomas’ Mod. Housewife 53 Half-a-pint of any kind of *meat-stock. |
| 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse (Shaks. Soc.) 48 There being one joynt of flesh on the table for such as had *meate stomackes. |
| 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades v. 1064 It [the Lord's Supper] differeth from our ordinarie *meate suppers..for y{supt} it is specially instituted by the sonne of God. |
| 1969 New Yorker 27 Sept. 122/2 Unite, slaves of the steam kettle and the shakers of *meat tenderizer and MSG. 1970 M. Slater Caribbean Cooking 12 The pulp [of pawpaw] contains pepsin and the skin and seeds are useful as meat tenderisers. |
| 1889 Century Mag. Apr. 909/2 They say that he sometimes fills an old *meat-tin with water in anticipation of a long march. |
| 1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 64, I would have been capable of going into the street and knocking down any little butcher's boy who refused peaceably to deliver up to me the contents of his wooden *meat-trough. |
| 1779 E. Parkman Diary (1899) 171 We are unhappily low in ye *Meat Tub. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Meat-tub, a tub for holding pickled meat. |
| 1847 Rep. Comm. Patents 1846 (U.S.) 310 The mode by which I obtain a vacuum in *meat vat A. for curing meat. |
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 238/2 A *Mete wesselle, escale. |
6. Special comb.:
† meat-ambry, a cupboard for keeping food; a meat safe;
meat-ant, a name used in Australia for an ant of the genus
Iridomyrmex,
esp. I. detectus, a large copper-coloured ant;
meat ball (see
quot. 1970); also
fig.; also used
attrib. to designate a type of landing system for aircraft (
U.S. slang);
meat-biscuit, a biscuit made with concentrated meat;
meat-block, a block of wood on which meat is cut up;
meat-breakfast, a breakfast that includes a meat dish;
meat card, a card entitling the holder to a ration of meat;
meat-chamber, a refrigerating chamber in ocean steamships for the purpose of transporting fresh meat to Europe (
Cassell's Encycl. Dict., 1885);
† meat-cloth, ? a table-cloth;
meat coupon, one of the coupons of which a meat card is made up;
meat-crusher, ‘a pair of rollers for tendering steak’ (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875);
meat cube, a small cube of concentrated meat extract;
meat-earth dial., good and fertile soil;
† meat-failer [
cf. quots. under
fail v. 7], one who lacks meat, a starveling;
† meat-fellow,
† -fere, a companion at meat, a guest;
meat-flour, beef dried at a low temperature and ground into a fine powder (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1890);
meat-fly, a blue-bottle fly;
† meat-form, a form on which to sit at one's meals;
meat-fruit, the fruit of
Artocarpus incisa (
Syd. Soc. Lex.);
† meat-giving, the providing of meals;
† meat-grace, a grace used before or after meat;
meat-grinder, a mincing machine; also
fig.;
meat-hale Sc. and
north. dial. = meat-whole (see E.D.D.);
† meat-hanger, ? a hanging shelf for a larder;
meat-head slang (chiefly
U.S.), a stupid person; so
meat-headed a., stupid;
† meat-herring ?
= matie;
meat hog, a hog intended for food (
U.S.,
rare);
meat-hook, (
a) (see
quot. 1873); (
b) an arm or hand
slang;
meat-house, (
a) a house in which meat is hung; (
b)
dial., ‘a larder;
fig. a house where a liberal allowance of good food is given’ (E.D.D.,
q.v.); (
c)
slang, a brothel;
meat-hunter U.S., one who hunts game for profit;
meat jelly, a jelly prepared from meat;
† meat-like a. Sc., having the appearance of being well-fed;
meat loaf = loaf n.1 2 e;
meat lozenge, a lozenge made with concentrated meat;
† meat lust (
-list), appetite for food;
meat maggot, the larva of the meat-fly;
meat man,
meatsman,
† (
a) one who provides food, a caterer;
† (
b) one who eats meat; (
c) one who sells meat; (
d) a man responsible for supplying meat to a camp;
meat-market,
† (
a) a market where food of any kind is sold; (
b) a market for butcher's meat; (
c)
slang, a rendezvous for prostitutes, homosexuals, etc.;
meat meal1, a meal of which meat forms the chief part;
meat-meal2, meat dried and ground into powder for cattle;
meat-offering, a sacrifice consisting of food; in versions of the Bible from the 16th c. used to render
Heb. minḥā{suph}, which meant an offering consisting of fine flour or parched corn and oil (R.V. ‘meal-offering’);
† meat pipe, the œsophagus;
† meat-place, a place for eating, a refectory;
meat-poisoning, poisoning by eating decomposed meat;
meat rack = meat-market (
c);
meat-rail, a wooden rail for supporting meat in a larder;
meat rocker, a mincing knife having a handle at each end, and worked by a rocking motion (Knight
Dict. Mech. Suppl. 1884);
meat safe, (
a) a cupboard for storing meat, usually made of wire gauze or perforated zinc; also sometimes applied to a wire gauze cover for meat; (
b)
transf. a name given to a kind of hat;
meat screen, a metal screen placed behind roasting meat to reflect back the heat of the fire;
† meat table, (
a) a dining-table; (
b) a table on which meat is cut up in preparation for cooking;
† meat-taking, the taking of food, eating;
meat tea, a tea at which meat is served, a high tea;
meat ticket, (
a)
Mil. slang, an identity disc; (
b)
= meal ticket (
b);
† meat time = mealtime;
meat tool coarse slang, the penis;
meat train, the men, horses, etc., conveying meat to a party;
meat-wagon slang (chiefly
U.S.), (
a) an ambulance; (
b) a police van, ‘black Maria’; (
c) a hearse;
meat-washing attrib. or adj. (
Path.), applied to the appearance of the stools in the second stage of dysentery, when they assume the character of a reddish fluid containing small flesh-like lumps;
† meat-while, the time of taking food; meal time;
† meat whitch, a chest or box for keeping meat;
meat-whole,
dial. having a good appetite for food;
† meat-will, a craving for food;
meat-works chiefly
Austral. and
N.Z., an establishment where meat is processed and packed; also, a slaughterhouse;
† meat-worth a. Sc. = meat-like. Also
meat-board.
| 1457 Peebles Charters, etc. (1872) 119 Alssua a *met amri and wessal ammari. 1548 Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1871) II. 136 Ane meit almarye to xiiiis. |
| 1907 W. W. Froggatt Austral. Insects 95 Most of them [sc. ants of the genus Iridomyrmex] are small, except our ‘Mound Ant’, sometimes known as the ‘*Meat Ant’, Iridomyrmex detectus, which is the commonest and most widely distributed ant in Australia. 1952 Coast to Coast 101 The ant-lion had seized the meat-ant by one leg. 1970 Brown & Taylor in Insects of Australia (Commonwealth Sci. & Industr. Res. Organization) xxxvii. 958/1 The meat ants (Iridomyrmex spp.) can be a serious pest around homes and food-processing plants. |
| c 1838 C. Mathews in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1973) IV. 138 You must be content with pâté or forced *meat ball. 1877 Cassell's Dict. Cookery 413/1 Meat Balls, Minced, Fried.—Take some roast mutton, some chestnuts, and neck of veal boiled in water with salt and vinegar. 1941 P. Gallico in Sat. Even. Post 14 June 110/2 As for that revolting meat-ball, I never wish to see him again. 1957 Economist 31 Aug. 688/2 The mirror reflects a bright light astern and upward into a beam which the pilot follows straight to a landing by keeping the ‘meatball’ light precisely centred in the mirror. 1957 New Yorker 5 Oct. 82/3 I'll polish off a meatball sandwich. 1960 Aeroplane XCIX. 65/1 The equipment evaluated by the F.A.A. included the U.S.A.F. ‘Meat Ball’ system, the U.S. Navy mirror system. Ibid. 401/1 The pilot aligns the ‘meatball’, or blob of reflected light, in the centre of the deck-landing mirror. 1962 Flight Internat. LXXXII. 100/1 A steady descent at 250kt to 1,000 ft..would be followed by a further descent to 600 ft, with the talkdown continuing until the pilot picked up the ‘meatball’ light of the mirror sight. 1969 R. Airth Snatch! iv. 36 He looked a very tough meatball. 1970 Simon & Howe Dict. Gastron. 262/2 Meat balls, any combination of meat, raw or cooked, shaped into balls. |
| 1852 J. Bell in Lect. Gt. Exhib. 141 Mr. Borden's *meat-biscuit—a convenient form of animal food in a concentrated and portable state. |
| 1838 E. Flagg Far West II. 59 Mr. W...was on the stump, in shape of a huge *meat-block at one corner of the market⁓house. |
| 1857 Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life (1858) I. 105 The unpleasant circumstances..together with heavy *meat breakfasts, may..have contributed to his desponding views. 1910 Bradshaw's Railway Guide Apr. 1149 Hotel Bedford—Paris... Room, meat breakfast, electric light.., from 6s. |
| 1870 Food Jrnl. 1 Dec. 622 The restaurateurs are compelled to ask for their customers' ‘*meat card’. 1918 Times 6 Feb 8/2 (heading), The London meat card. Ibid. 25 Feb. 9/5 Only three coupons each week of a meat card can be used for butcher's meat. |
| 1499 Yatton Churchw. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 122 A *mete clothe and a ryng. 1494 in Somerset Med. Wills (1901) 323 A Mete cloth and iij tuels. |
| 1918 Times 25 Feb. 9/5 You must not tear off *meat coupons yourself. This duty rests with the retailer. 1919 ‘I. Hay’ Last Million 97 ‘Got my meat coupons?’ They shook their heads... ‘Better have bacon and eggs,’ announced Hebe. ‘They're not rationed.’ |
| 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 392/2, 1 *meat cube, or 1 tsp. meat extract. 1971 Guardian 19 May 8/2 Make stock with a meat cube, sieve in left-over vegetables and you have an economical soup. |
| 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub. 324 *Meat-Earth, soil; the superficial earth, fit for agriculture. 1860 Eng. & For. Min. Gloss. (Cornw. Terms), Meat earth, the vegetable mould. |
| 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingt. (Percy Soc.) 21 Oh, this *meate failer Dicke! |
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Sam. xix. 28 Forsothe thou puttist me thi seruaunt among thi *meetfelawis [1388 gestis] of thi bord. |
| ― Dan. xiv. 1 Danyel was *meete feere of the kyng. |
| 1840 Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 633 Musca vomitoria, Linn., the Common *Meat Fly. 1861 Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iv. i. 237 The Blue or Meat Fly (Calliphora Vomitoria) is one of the largest species found in France. |
| a 1400 Octavian 1245 Whene his swerde brokene was, A *meteforme he gatt par cas. |
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxxvii. 32 Wile thou not ben gredy in alle plenteuous *mete ȝyuyng [Vulg. in omni epulatione]. |
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 426 Ȝif heo ne kunnen nout þe *mete graces, siggen in hore stude Pater noster & Aue Maria biuoren mete. |
| 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 128/1 That man..whose school training wins him the privilege of getting at once into the technological *meat grinder. 1969 R. & D. De Sola Dict. Cooking 150/1 Meat grinder, utensil or attachment for grinding meat, usually provided with a variety of cutting blades for different grinds. 1970 W. Burroughs Jr. Speed vii. 145 I'd be sucked right into the actual meatgrinder of another reel. 1972 Listener 17 Aug. 199/1 The North Vietnamese..managed to tie down South Vietnam's strategic reserve..in a gruesome ‘meat-grinder’. |
| 1626 in Anc. Invent. (Halliw. 1854) 99 Item, a square *meate hanger. |
| 1945 H. I. Phillips Private Purkey's Private Peace i. 8 ‘Harriet!’ mocked a battered buddy. ‘Honey bunch! Lissen to the *meathead.’ 1967 Boston Globe 18 May 27/3 It seems to this meat-head that the building of a branch of the state university..gives all of us a great chance to upgrade some area which needs a little up-grading. 1971 Newsweek 29 Nov. 52/1 Archie Bunker, the middle American hero of ‘All in the Family’..sees himself menaced by a rising tide of spades,..meat⁓heads,..fags and four-eyes. |
| 1949 W. R. Burnett Asphalt Jungle (1950) vi. 72 Some *meat-headed tart. |
| 1758 Descr. Thames 227 The *Meat Herring, which is likewise large, but not so thick nor so fat as the former [Fat Herring]. |
| 1856 G. N. Jones Florida Plantation Rec. (1927) 169, I doe not see but verry few of the shoats that I turned out for *meat hogs this year. |
| 1842 Emerson Lect. Transcend. Wks. (Bohn) II. 289 The martyrs were sawn asunder, or hung alive on *meat-hooks. 1873 E. W. Tarn Tredgold's Carpentry 286 Meat-hooks are large wrought-iron hooks, generally tinned over, having a screw on one end, which is driven into a beam in the ceiling of a larder. 1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 33 Meat-hook, arm. 1932 Amer. Speech VII. 334 Meat hooks, hands. 1945 L. Shelly Jive Talk Dict. 29 Meat hooks, the hands. |
| 1805 W. Clark in Lewis & Clark Orig. Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Expedition (1905) III. 284 Had the *Meet house covered and the Meat all hung up. 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants ii. 126 Around it [sc. the cabin] are put a meat or smoke house [etc.]. 1862 R. Henning Let. 28 Aug. (1966) 95 The woolshed, meathouse..and dwelling-house are so very well put up. 1896 Farmer & Henley Slang IV. 296/2 Meat-house, a brothel. 1906 Dialect Notes III. 146 Meat-house,..smoke-house; a wooden shed in which smoked and preserved meats are kept. 1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 192 Meat-house,..maison publique. 1937 Partridge Dict. Slang 515/1 Meat-house, a brothel. |
| 1889 Harper's Mag. May 878/1 The *meat-hunters are still devoting their attention to the killing of larger game. |
| 1381 Forme of Cury (1780) xxxvi. 103 For to make *mete Gelee that it be wel chariaunt. 1865 Mrs. Stowe House & Home Papers 248 Those fine, clear meat-jellies which form a garnish..palatable to the taste. 1965 V. Holland tr. A. Escoffier's Ma Cuisine 67 Beef tea and meat jelly for invalids. |
| 1762 Bp. Forbes Jrnl. (1886) 216 You see I am *meat-like and cloath-like, as we say in Scotland. |
| 1932 E. Craig Cooking with E. Craig 58 (heading) Banana and *meat loaf. 1939, etc. Meat loaf [see loaf n.1 2 e]. |
| 1903 Longm. Mag. July 129, I took only some tins of Brand's essence of beef, chocolate, *meat-lozenges [etc.]. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens v. xxxv. 597 The Rampion eaten with vinegar and salt stirreth up appetite or *meate-lust. 1746 Exmoor Courtship 560 (E.D.S.) And cham come to my Meat list agen. |
| 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 89 He is as good a *meates man and Catour for him selfe, as any thing liuing is. 1606 Holland Sueton. 220 A great feeder and meate-man by report he was. 1831 R. Cox Adventures Columbia River ii. x. 222 The meat-men did not return until nine this morning..but at eleven the hunter's signal drew us to the shore, and the meat-men were despatched. 1910 Dialect Notes III. 445 Meat-man,..butcher, or driver of a butcher's wagon. 1920 Ibid. V. 83 Meat man, for butcher. |
| 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. (1895) 157 *Meate markettes, whether be brought not onlye all sortes of herbes, and the fruites of trees with breade, but also fishe. 1856 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 9 The Christmas meat-markets. 1896 Farmer & Henley Slang IV. 296/2 Meat-market,..any rendezvous of public women. 1937 Partridge Dict. Slang 515/1 Meat-market, a rendezvous of harlots. 1957 J. Osborne Entertainer i. 18 Every tart and pansy boy in the district are in that place... It's just a meat-market. 1973 Amer. Speech 1970 XLV. 58 Meat market n., street on which homosexuals gather, cruise, and pick up tricks. |
| 1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 465 A substantial *meat meal should be provided for breakfast and dinner. |
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 8 Oct. 4/2 The residue is dried and ground into *meat meal for cattle feeding. |
| 1535 Coverdale Num. vii. 13 Full of fyne floure myngled with oile for a *meatofferinge. 1611 Bible Lev. ii. 14. |
| 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. ii. xxxi. marg., The Oesophagus or *meat-pipe. 1755 Johnson, Gullet..the meat-pipe. |
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 238/1 A *Mete place, esculentum. |
| 1875 tr. von Ziemssen's Cycl. Med. I. 50 There is a particular disease produced by *meat-poisoning. |
| 1972 B. Rodgers Queens' Vernacular 132 *Meat rack, outdoor setting ..where homosexuals gather to parade their wares. |
| 1842 Gwilt Archit. §2285. 614 Fittings for larder, Two *meat rails, 6 feet long, of wrought fir...suspended from wrought iron stirrups. |
| 1836–9 Dickens Sk. Boz, Boarding-ho. i, There were *meat-safe-looking blinds in the parlour windows. 1840 ― Old C. Shop xxxvi, The candle-box, the salt-box, the meat-safe, were all padlocked. 1860 Heads & Hats 23 Various strong-minded heads have presented to our startled and derisive gaze, sundry ‘tiles’, ‘wide-awakes’, ‘meat-safes’, and a variety of things by courtesy called ‘hats’. |
| 1830 Marryat King's Own xli, Knife-tray, *meat-screen. |
| 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 729/7 Hec escaria, a *mettabylle. 1485 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 51 Moldyng trowghes..j, lanteres..x, Mete tables..iij. |
| 1435 Misyn Fire of Love ii. x, God we awe to loyf, And in tyme of our *meet takynge & space be-twix morsels to ȝeild him loueyngis with honily swetnes. |
| 1860 Sala Baddington Peerage I. xi. 193 A good, hearty *meat tea. 1885 Black White Heather xxv, This high occasion was to be celebrated by a ‘meat-tea’. |
| 1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 33 *Meat Ticket, (or Dead Meat Ticket)—an identification disc. 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 154 Meat ticket, the identity disc. 1929 Papers Mich. Acad. Sci., Arts & Lett. X. 307 Meat-ticket, wrist-tag for purposes of identification; ‘dog-tag’. 1936 P. Bottome Level Crossing xvi. 192 He'd better not try to settle too much on my meat ticket! 1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 117 Meat ticket, identity disc. |
| c 1400 Rule St. Benet 150 Þair sal scho sit in hir prayers vnto þe *mete-tym. |
| 1971 B. Malamud Tenants 88 What do you do..with your *meat tool? You got no girl, who do you fuck other than your hand? |
| 1845 J. C. Frémont Rep. Exploring Expedition 234 The *meat train did not arrive this evening, and I gave Godey leave to kill our little dog. |
| 1925 J. H. Taber Story of 168th Infantry I. xvi. 189 By this time all of the old members of the regiment..cheerfully referred to the ambulance as the ‘*meat wagon’. 1939 Forum (N.Y.) July 42/1 He must have pulled his rip cord because he woke up in the meatwagon. 1942 Berrey & Van Den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §81/13 Hearse, meat cart, -crate, or wagon. 1943 R. Chandler Lady in Lake (1944) xvi. 95 Murder-a-day Marlowe, they call him. They have the meat wagon following him around to follow up on the business he finds. 1954 Britannica Bk. of Year 637/1 The meat-wagon was the police-van in which the criminal rode to captivity. 1956 S. Longstreet Real Jazz 7 The band would march out behind the meat-wagon, black plumes on the hearse horses. 1964 Listener 31 Dec. 1055/2 The bogeys..bundle us into the back of a meat-wagon. 1971 ‘E. McBain’ Hail, Hail, Gang's all Here i. 15 We'll need a couple of meat wagons. The minister and two other people were killed, and ..there're a lot of injured. 1973 ‘H. Howard’ Highway to Murder xiii. 153 She hadn't deserved to become a parcel of broken flesh and bone in the meat wagon. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 940 In any case the ‘*meat-washing’ character of the stools..should prevent a mistake. |
| 1435 Misyn Fire of Love ii. x, With desire in *meet qwhiel to ȝerne. c 1460 Emare 229 When the mete-whyle was doun, Into hys chambur he wente soun. |
| 1468 Medulla in Promp. Parv. 335 note, Cibutum, a *mete whycche. |
| 1599 True Report etc. in Hakluyt's Voy. (1812) V. 36 In all but seven men aboord the shippe that were *meat-whole. |
| 1643 in Dalyell Darker Superst. Scotl. (1834) 492–3 Ye sall have such ane *meit-will and sall have nothing to eat. |
| [1895 T. A. Coghlan Wealth & Progress New South Wales I. 367 All the cattle killed, except 27,891 treated in the meat-preserving works, were required for local consumption.] 1934 Webster, *Meat works. 1948 V. Palmer Golconda ii. 9 Driving them across country to the meatworks at Wyndham. 1960 B. Crump Good Keen Man 46 The hut stank like a meat works. 1968 Times 23 Jan. (Austral. Suppl.) p. xiv/3 In one year before the meatworks opened a large property shot 10,000 scrub bulls (not branded or castrated). |
| 1576 in Pitcairn Crim. Trials (Bann. Cl.) I. 53 Seis thow nocht me, baith *meit-worth, claith-worth, and gude aneuch lyke in persoun? |
Sense 3 f in
Dict. becomes 3 g. Add:
[3.] f. The substance of one's body; flesh; fat.
colloq. (
orig. U.S.).
| 1829 P. Egan Boxiana 2nd Ser. I. 702 Both men, on peeling, seemed prime meat. 1834 W. A. Caruthers Kentuckian in N.Y. I. 27 If I hadn't had so many inches, he'd have been into my meat. 1847 J. S. Robb Streaks of Squatter Life 59 Old Tom Jones' yell..gives my meat a slight sprinklin' of ager whenever I think on it. 1906 J. London in Woman's Home Compan. Sept. 7/3 Nothing the matter with him... Badly debilitated, that's all. Not much meat on his bones. 1965 F. O'Connor Everything that Rises 226 He liked women with meat on them, so you didn't feel their muscles, much less their old bones. 1978 S. Brill Teamsters viii. 300 There was a lot of meat on his chest that hadn't yet dropped to his paunch. |
▪ II. meat, v. Now
dial. (
miːt)
[f. prec. n. Cf. late OE. mętian to supply with food.] 1. trans. To feed, supply with food or provender.
| 1568 Jacob & Esau ii. iii. C iv, Well ywisse Esau, ye did knowe well ynouw That I had as muche nede to be meated as you. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 139 Good husbandrie meateth his friend and the poore. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xix. 196 Haste then, and meate your men. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 55 Those that trail the sweathrake have usually 6d. a day, if they meate themselfes. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 385 They meat their Horses with Barley. 1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' lix, But gae awa' e'now (quo' he) And meat the horse. 1866 Rachel's Secret I. 105 Besides their own family, there were the five men whom they had to ‘meat’. 1895 ‘Q’ Wandering Heath 26 My father..went out to meat the pig. |
2. intr. To feed, partake of food.
| c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxv, And euere, as he stereth and passeth forth metynge, þei do drawe hem nere hym [etc.]. 1889 Jokes Ser. i. 11 (E.D.D.) In Aberdeenshire where farm-servants ‘meat’ in the house. |
▪ III. meat obs. Sc. form of
mate n.2▪ IV. meat(e obs. forms of
meet a.