messmate

American  

[mes-meyt] / ˈmɛsˌmeɪt /

noun

1. a person, especially a friend, who is a member of a group regularly taking meals together, as in an army camp.

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messmate British  

/ ˈmɛsˌmeɪt /

noun

1. a person with whom one shares meals in a mess, esp in the army

2. any of various eucalyptus trees that grow amongst other species

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Etymology

Origin of messmate

First recorded in 1720–30; mess + mate ¹

Example Sentences

Known as messmate, it’s considered less nutritious, but it’s eucalyptus all the same.

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2019

To chip away at the mystery, Moore and his colleagues analyzed the feces of koalas that fed exclusively on manna gum and compared it with those that prefer messmate.

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2019

But the bacteria found inside those that received messmate microbes changed a lot.

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2019

Most important was that the koalas that had been seeded with the new bacteria actually went on to eat more messmate than the control group.

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2019

The σύσσιτος, of Æthiops, in the passage of Athenæus, is evidently his regular messmate.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Müller, Karl Otfried