messmate

American  

[mes-mayt] / 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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

messmate

The presence of bacteria associated with messmate digestion skyrocketed, said Michaela Blyton, an ecologist at the University of Queensland and the lead author of a paper describing the findings.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 23, 2019

Many of the Cape Otway koalas wouldn’t touch the stuff and starved to death, with the messmate trees in plain view.

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

Jack, among the boldest of the swimmers, made large circuits round the ship, accompanied by his messmate, Bill Sikes.

From Jack Buntline by William Henry Giles Kingston

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