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viand

[vahy-uh nd]
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noun
  1. an article of food.
  2. viands, articles or dishes of food, now usually of a choice or delicate kind.
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Origin of viand

1350–1400; Middle English viaunde < Middle French viande < Vulgar Latin *vīvanda, for Latin vīvenda things to be lived on, neuter plural gerund of vīvere to live
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for viand

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The natives roast his flesh, and esteem it a viand of no ordinary excellence.

    The Desert World

    Arthur Mangin

  • The viand contents of the monumental burden together with what sea and hill could provide—these figured.

  • Each of us seizes the viand dearest to his or her heart, and tries to shelter it beneath his or her umbrella.

    Nancy

    Rhoda Broughton

  • This humble promoter of forestry is duly appreciated, if only as a viand, by his neighbors.

  • Not until one has tried does one realize to what excellence and variety this form of viand lends itself.

    Social Life

    Maud C. Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for viand

viand

noun
  1. a type of food, esp a delicacy
  2. (plural) provisions
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Word Origin

C14: from Old French viande, ultimately from Latin vīvenda things to be lived on, from vīvere to live
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 viand

n.

"article of food," early 14c., from Anglo-French viaunde, Old French viande "food," dissimilated from Vulgar Latin *vivanda, from Late Latin vivenda "things for living," in classical Latin, "be live," neuter plural gerundive of vivere "to live" (see vital).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper