aliment

American  

[al-uh-muhnt, al-uh-ment] / ˈæl ə mənt, ˈæl əˌmɛnt /

noun

1. that which nourishes; nutriment; food.

   Synonyms:

   sustenance, nourishment

2. that which sustains; means of support.

   Synonyms:

   sustenance

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verb (used with object)

1. to sustain; support.

aliment British  

noun

1. something that nourishes or sustains the body or mind

2. Scots law another term for alimony

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verb

1. obsolete (tr) to support or sustain

Other Word Forms

• alimental adjective
• alimentally adverb

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

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

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

Seamen: an Appeal.”36.An excess of that very aliment, the absence of which produces scurvy, will also induce disease.

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 2 by Whymper, Frederick