comestible

[kuh-mes-tuh-buh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR comestible ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

edible; eatable.

noun

Usually comestibles. articles of food; edibles: The table was spread with all kinds of comestibles.

Origin of comestible

1475–85; < Late Latin comēstibilis, equivalent to Latin comēst(us), past participle of comedere to eat up (see comedo; -ēstus for -ēs(s)us by analogy with gestus, ūstus, etc.; see combust) + -ibilis -ible; see eat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for comestible

eatable, provisions, edible, victual, esculent

Examples from the Web for comestible

Historical Examples of comestible

He wrote to Paris and London for all the delicacies of the "comestible" shops.
That Boy Of Norcott's
Charles James Lever
The seeds yield an oil that is used for illumination and as a comestible.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
T. H. Pardo de Tavera
If one comestible ran short, there should be another to take its place.
The Pace That Kills
Edgar Saltus
But the abalone—as a Christian comestible he is a stranger to me and the tooth o' me.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Even Vaniman could not have used more bitter words to express his detestation for soap as a comestible.
When Egypt Went Broke
Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for comestible

comestible

noun

(usually plural) food

adjective

a rare word for edible

Word Origin for comestible

C15: from Late Latin comestibilis, from comedere to eat up; see comedo

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for comestible

1837, "article of food," from French comestible (14c.), from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comestus, past participle of comedere "eat up, consume," from com- "thoroughly" (see com-) + edere "to eat" (see edible). It was attested earlier as an adjective (late 15c.) meaning "fit to eat" but seems to have fallen from use 17c., and the word was reintroduced from French.