viand
Americannoun
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an article of food.
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viands, articles or dishes of food, now usually of a choice or delicate kind.
noun
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a type of food, esp a delicacy
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(plural) provisions
Etymology
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
Explanation
A viand is something really delicious. The grilled cheese sandwich at the diner near your house that’s better than any other grilled cheese sandwich in a 400 mile radius? That’s a viand. Viand comes from the Old French word viande, meaning “food.” A viand is something so good you’ll think about it for weeks after you eat it. Your grandmother’s Thanksgiving turkey might be a viand, or maybe the hot chocolate you drink after sledding is a viand. No matter what you consider delicious, you’re lucky if you’re eating a viand.
Vocabulary lists containing viand
Frankenstein
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The Tempest
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"The Pit and the Pendulum," Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sov'reign solids of nature, Solar seeds of the sphere, Olympian viand Surprising as rare.
From Tablets by Alcott, Amos Bronson
And Mrs. Baxter pressed one viand after another upon her guest, before she could turn her attention to the teapot, which was at present enveloped in a huge braided cosy.
From Lover or Friend by Carey, Rosa Nouchette
The porridge was accordingly prepared; and, when engaged in discussing this familiar viand, a little before midnight—for we had arrived late—a tall Highlander entered the inn, dropping like a mill-wheel.
From My Schools and Schoolmasters or The Story of my Education. by Miller, Hugh
The supper chamber in Chiari was most sumptuously laid out,—vermicelli soup, flesh, fowls, cheese, pastry, wine,—every viand, in short, that could tempt the appetite.
From Pilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber Or The Influence of Romanism on Trade, Justice, and Knowledge by Wylie, James Aitken
The others did not join him in this singular viand, although the shikarree assured them that tiger-beef was far superior to the venison of the sambur deer.
From The Plant Hunters Adventures Among the Himalaya Mountains by Reid, Mayne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
