Word of the Day: Aliment
aliment
al-i-ment / ăl-ə-mənt
noun
1. something that provides nourishment or sustenance
I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and that not as an aliment, so much as a condiment for the vegetables, which constitute my principal diet.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743 – 1826
2. something that is necessary or supplies necessities for continuance
As the fire gained strength and heat, it began to spread on three sides, dying of itself on the fourth, for want of aliment.
From “The Prairie” by James Fenimore Cooper, 1789 – 1851
verb
1. (obsolete) to provide with sustenance or necessary support
There are various cases when the Court found that the mothers of the children were alimenting the fathers in prison.
“Report from the Select Committee on Civil Imprisonment (Scotland) Bill: Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence” Ordered by The House of Commons, July 19, 1882, entry from May 8, 1882
