Meaning
The flesh (muscle tissue) of a killed animal used as food.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der. Proto-Germanic *matiz Proto-West Germanic *mati Old English mete Middle English mete English meat Inherited from Middle English mete (“food”), from Old English mete (“food”), from Proto-West Germanic *mati (“food”), from Proto-Germanic *matiz (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to be wet; grease, fat”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Miit (“meat”), Danish mad (“food”), Faroese and Icelandic matur (“food, meal”), Norn mader (“food”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish mat (“food”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐍃 (mats, “food”). A -ja- derivation from the same base is found in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German met (“lean pork”), from which Dutch met (“minced pork”) and German Mett (“minced meat”) derive, respectively. Compare also Old Irish mess (“animal feed”) and Welsh mes (“acorns”), English mast (“fodder for swine and other animals”), which are probably from the same root.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 19 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-06-24TACEMNP
- 2026-05-09TAEGHIM
- 2026-04-15AETNMPV
- 2026-03-20MACDEHT
- 2026-02-19MACEHIT
- 2026-01-08ADYTIEM
- 2025-10-26MAEINTY
- 2025-09-24MAUTLEC
- 2025-08-06TAMEBJN
- 2025-05-29MTAPECI
- 2025-04-24MATEBGY
- 2025-03-11TNAKMEB
+7 earlier appearances in the archive.