comestible
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Middle French comestible, or its source, Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“I eat”), from com- (English com-) + edō (“I eat”) (as in English edible), from Proto-Indo-European (whence also English eat). Cognate with Spanish comestible (“grocery”).
Attested as adjective in late 15th century, from Middle French, but fell from use in the 17th century, thence reintroduced from Modern French in 19th century.[1]
Corresponding terms in various Romance languages, more distant cognates include Portuguese and Spanish comida.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /kəˈmɛstəbl̩/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (Received Pronunciation, also) IPA(key): /kəˈmɛstɪbl̩/
- Hyphenation US: co‧mes‧ti‧ble; UK: com‧est‧ible
Adjective
[edit]comestible (comparative more comestible, superlative most comestible)
- Suitable to be eaten; edible. [From 15th c.]
- 1536, Thomas Elyot, Castell of Helth:
- Some herbes are most comestible.
- 1972 March 6, Richard W. Langer, “Sage, Rosemary and Thyme: Growing Your Own Fresh Herbs”, in New York, page 40:
- What with freeze-dried chives costing $96 a pound, and those snipped fresh for the omelette from the potted garden on the kitchen ledge almost free, the bountiful begonia has given way in many apartments to more comestible greenery.
- 1993, M. J. Trow, Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring, published 2000, page 112:
- Lestrade raised his mug in a loyal toast while Lady Pauline saw to the more comestible sort for breakfast.
- 2007, Rene Simo, The Little Gringo: Love and Martyrdom in Cameroon, page 12:
- From the palm nut we derive palm oil, the most comestible oil in our country and in the whole of Africa.
Usage notes
[edit]Relatively formal; edible is the usual term, while eatable is rather informal.
Synonyms
[edit]Coordinate terms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
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Noun
[edit]comestible (plural comestibles)
- (chiefly in the plural) Anything that can be eaten; food. [From 19th c.]
- Synonyms: foodstuff, sustenance, victuals; see also Thesaurus:food
- 1910, Frank Richards, The Greyfriar′s Picnic:
- Comestibles of all sorts came to view, and a smell of cooking spread itself among the trees.
- 1986 February, Joan Fox, “Restaurants: Just Like Mama Used to Cook”, in Cincinnati Magazine, page 116:
- Both serve up, with no fanfare, country comestibles.
- June 4th, 1989, “Pete Granger” (username), Hack Tutorial, Part 03/03, rec.games.hack:
- For instance, a food ration can be polymorphed into a carrot, a tripe ration, or any other comestible.
- 2003, Priscilla Boniface, Tasting Tourism: Travelling for Food and Drink, page 74:
- Precisely that, for example, homemade food, craft pottery, rough-hewn wood furniture, and consumption of comestibles in a barn, are not the usual daily experience is the reason it is fun, enticing and a contrast for a person when on holiday.
Usage notes
[edit]Rather formal; the simple term food is far more common. Similarly, the term beverage often serves as a formal equivalent of the more common drink. In both cases, the more elevated term (comestible, beverage) is of French origin, while the plain term (food, drink) is of Old English origin, and this stylistic difference by origin is common; see list of English words with dual French and Anglo-Saxon variations.
Coordinate terms
[edit]- beverage (relatively formal term for something intended to be drunk)
Translations
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “comestible”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Asturian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“I eat”).
Adjective
[edit]comestible (epicene, plural comestibles)
- edible (that can be eaten without harm; suitable for consumption)
Catalan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“to eat”).
Adjective
[edit]comestible m or f (masculine and feminine plural comestibles)
- comestible
- Synonym: menjable
- Antonyms: immenjable, incomestible
Noun
[edit]comestible m (plural comestibles)
- (in the plural) comestibles, edibles
Further reading
[edit]- “comestible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“to eat”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio: (file)
Adjective
[edit]comestible (plural comestibles)
- comestible
- Synonym: mangeable
- Antonyms: immangeable, incomestible
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “comestible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“I eat”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]comestible m or f (plural comestibles)
- edible
- Antonyms: incomestible, incomestíbel
Noun
[edit]comestible m (plural comestibles)
- (usually in the plural) comestible, edible
Related terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “comestible”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024
Occitan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“I eat”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]comestible m (feminine singular comestibla, masculine plural comestibles, feminine plural comestiblas)
Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“to eat”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]comestible m or f (masculine and feminine plural comestibles)
- edible, comestible
- Antonym: incomestible
Usage notes
[edit]- Not to be confused with comible.
Noun
[edit]comestible m (plural comestibles)
- (chiefly in the plural) groceries, comestible, food
Related terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “comestible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ed-
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Asturian terms borrowed from Late Latin
- Asturian terms derived from Late Latin
- Asturian terms derived from Latin
- Asturian lemmas
- Asturian adjectives
- Catalan terms borrowed from Late Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Late Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan epicene adjectives
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- Catalan terms suffixed with -ible
- French terms borrowed from Late Latin
- French terms derived from Late Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms with audio pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- Galician terms borrowed from Late Latin
- Galician terms derived from Late Latin
- Galician terms derived from Latin
- Galician lemmas
- Galician adjectives
- Galician nouns
- Galician countable nouns
- Galician masculine nouns
- Occitan terms borrowed from Late Latin
- Occitan terms derived from Late Latin
- Occitan terms derived from Latin
- Occitan terms with audio pronunciation
- Occitan lemmas
- Occitan adjectives
- Spanish terms borrowed from Late Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Late Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish 4-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/ible
- Rhymes:Spanish/ible/4 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish epicene adjectives
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns