postprandial

American  

[pohst-pran-dee-uhl] / poʊstˈpræn di əl /

adjective

1. after a meal, especially after dinner.

   postprandial oratory; a postprandial brandy.

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postprandial British  

/ pəʊstˈprændɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the period immediately after lunch or dinner

   a postprandial nap

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Other Word Forms

• postprandially
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of postprandial

First recorded in 1810–20; post- + Latin prandi(um) “meal” + -al ¹

Explanation

Anything that's postprandial happens immediately after eating a meal, like the postprandial sleepiness that follows Thanksgiving dinner and leaves your entire family snoozing on the couch. The adjective postprandial is just what you need for describing that after-dinner drowsiness, a condition that has the official name postprandial somnolence. If you can resist taking a nap after an unusually large lunch, you might instead take a postprandial walk around the block. Postprandial adds the prefix post-, or "after," to the Latin prandium, "luncheon."

Example Sentences

“Upon the completion of digestion, these postprandial responses are thrown into reverse; tissue function is collectively downregulated and tissues undergo atrophy.”

From Washington Post • Jan. 26, 2023

For lassi is also the original digestif, a postprandial probiotic drink that cools the body while firing up the digestive system.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2022

I wish venues would be less locked into the 8 p.m. postprandial habit going forward.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2021

But I have found a way to combat the postprandial nausea of which I have grown so accustomed: Gin Gins.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2018

At one point, Fischer and Kok joined the Spasskys in a doubles tennis match; there were elegant, candlelit dinners and postprandial conversations, and a few outings into Brussels itself.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady