alimentary
[al-uh-men-tuh-ree]
- concerned with the function of nutrition; nutritive.
- pertaining to food.
- providing sustenance or maintenance.
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Origin of alimentary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for alimentary
Historical Examples
Arsenic inflames the mucous membranes of the alimentary passages.
Alcohol and the Human BrainJoseph Cook
Oversaturated, the alimentary system refuses to work properly.
The Iron RationGeorge Abel Schreiner
Thus the alimentary supply is conditioned solely by the heat required.
The Races of ManJoseph Deniker
Of course these ceremonies are not followed by an alimentary communion.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious LifeEmile Durkheim
The alimentary tract is not continued into the hindermost of them.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume II (of 4)Francis Maitland Balfour
alimentary
- of or relating to nutrition
- providing sustenance or nourishment
- Scots law free from the claims of creditorsan alimentary trust
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for alimentary
adj.
1610s, from Medieval Latin alimentarius "pertaining to food," from Latin alimentum "nourishment," from alere "to nourish, rear, support, maintain," from PIE root *al- "to grow, nourish" (see old).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
alimentary
(ăl′ə-mĕn′tə-rē, -trē)- Concerned with food, nutrition, or digestion.
- Providing nourishment.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.