aliment
Americannoun
-
that which nourishes; nutriment; food.
- Synonyms:
- sustenance, nourishment
-
that which sustains; means of support.
- Synonyms:
- sustenance
verb (used with object)
noun
-
something that nourishes or sustains the body or mind
-
Scots law another term for alimony
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aliment
1470–80; < Latin alimentum, equivalent to al ( ere ) to feed + -i- -i- + -mentum -ment
Explanation
Aliment is an old-fashioned word for "food" or "nourishment." If you go to a party expecting to be fed dinner, it'll be a big disappointment to realize there's no aliment at all, not even a bowl of chips! At first glance, aliment looks like ailment, but it's not a typo! This word, derived from the Latin alimentum, or "nourishment," was widely used in the 18th and 19th centuries. It's both a noun and a verb, so people could have said, "I haven't eaten since yesterday — I need aliment!" and also "Here, let this soup aliment you." Today, we're more likely to hear about the alimentary canal, our body's long digestive tube.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The pope will then move to a chair to the side of the altar and preside from there, sitting most of the time because of knee aliment that impedes him from standing for too long.
From Reuters ● Jan. 4, 2023
It was also linked to about 225 cases worldwide of a fatal human brain aliment known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2012
Food was food, "one universal aliment," a generalized fuel for the body.
From Time Magazine Archive
New enterprises and ceaseless occupation were the aliment of that restless and noble spirit.
From Amenities of Literature Consisting of Sketches and Characters of English Literature by Disraeli, Isaac
Often have you scoffed and sneered at all the aliment of kindness or society that fate has afforded me.
From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume II (of 2) by Marshall, Florence A. Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
