English
meatless
Meatless comes from Middle English meteles ‘lacking food or sustenance’, from Old English metelēas ‘foodless’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- ‘to drip, to ooze, to wet’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂d-‘to drip, to ooze, to wet’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*matiz‘food’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mati‘food’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mete‘food’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150metelēas‘foodless’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500meteles‘lacking food or sustenance’
- Englishearliest quotation 1916meatless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂d-‘to drip, to ooze, to wet’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*matiz‘food’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mati‘food’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mete‘food’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150metelēas‘foodless’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500meteles‘lacking food or sustenance’
- Englishearliest quotation 1916meatless
Earliest quotation: 1916, The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature: “A meatless day or a beerless or tealess day…”
Formed from meat + -less
Proto-Germanic *matiz ‘food’
Proto-West Germanic *mati ‘food’
Old English mete ‘food’
Middle English mete ‘food’
English meat
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- ‘to drip, to ooze, to wet’
through Proto-Germanic *matiz ‘food’
Today it means
adj Without meat.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- / meatless