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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 viands

Historical Examples

  • It might here refer more particularly to the room which contained the viands.

    Y Gododin

    Aneurin

  • None of the viands looked familiar but all appealed to the appetite.

  • There were long tables loaded with viands and decorated with flowers.

  • All The viands in their gravy's wine Grow lurid and fantastical.

  • The viands were excellent, and the wines of the first quality.

British Dictionary definitions for viands

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 viands

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