comestible
/kəˈmɛstɪbl̩/ adjective, noun
Forms comestibles
- adjective Suitable to be eaten; edible.
- noun (chiefly in the plural) Anything that can be eaten; food.
Synonyms
eatable edible esculent foodstuff sustenance victuals aliment bait belly-timber chow comestibles cuisine eatables eats edibles feed fodder foodstuffs food grub pabulum victual
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French comestible, or its source, Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“to eat”), from com- (English com-) + edō (“I eat”) (as in English edible), from Proto-Indo-European (whence also English eat). Cognate with Spanish comestible (“grocery”).
Attested as adjective in late 15th century, from Middle French, but fell from use in the 17th century, thence reintroduced from Modern French in 19th century.
Corresponding terms in various Romance languages, more distant cognates include Portuguese and Spanish comida.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Suitable to be eaten; eatable; esculent.
- noun Something suitable to be eaten; --commonly in the plural.
Etymology [F. comestible, fr. L. comesus, comestus, p. p. pf comedere to eat; com- + edere to eat.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “comestible”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details