aliment

1 of 2

noun

al·​i·​ment ˈa-lə-mənt 

plural aliments

dated

: something that nourishes : food, nutriment

These [milk and eggs] furnish us with a concentrated aliment of agreeable flavour …

—T. L. Nichols

They lived on the scant aliment furnished in the woods …

—John Pendleton Kennedy

—often used figuratively

There was nothing there of conversational aliment …

—Kingsley Amis

… poetry was aliment, and breath, and life to me.

—John Neal

aliment

2 of 2

verb

al·​i·​ment ˈa-lə-ˌment 

alimented; alimenting; aliments

transitive verb

: to give aliment to : nourish, sustain

Did you know?

These days you're most likely to encounter "aliment" as a typo for "ailment," but the word was less of a rarity in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. And the word's history goes back even further than that. It dates to the 15th century and comes from Latin alere, meaning "to nourish," by way of "alimentum." Although "aliment" is uncommon in today's English, you may recognize it in the somewhat technical term "alimentary canal"-the name for the long tube in the body through which food passes after it is eaten. "Aliment" also functions as a verb meaning "to give aliment to," or "to nourish or sustain."

Synonyms of aliment

Noun

• food
• nourishment

Examples of aliment in a Sentence

Noun

complained that he had to drive for hours to find any sort of cultural aliment when visiting his parents' rural home

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin alimentum, from alere "to nurse, supply with nutrition, support, maintain" + -mentum -ment — more at old entry 1

Verb

borrowed form Middle French alimenter, borrowed from Late Latin alimentāre "to nourish, maintain," derivative of Latin alimentum "food, sustenance" — more at aliment entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

aliment

noun

al·​i·​ment

ˈal-ə-mənt

: food sense 1, nutriment

also : food for the mind or spirit

Medical Definition

aliment

noun

al·​i·​ment ˈal-ə-mənt 

: a food or nutrient substance