victuals

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vict·ual

(vĭt′l)

1. Food fit for human consumption.

2. victuals Food supplies; provisions.

v. vict·ualed, vict·ual·ing, vict·uals or vict·ualled or vict·ual·ling

v.tr.

To provide with food.

v.intr.

1. To lay in food supplies.

2. To eat.

[Alteration (influenced by Late Latin vīctuālia, provisions) of Middle English vitaille, from Old French, from Late Latin vīctuālia, provisions, from neuter pl. of Latin vīctuālis, of nourishment, from vīctus, nourishment, from past participle of vīvere, to live; see g^wei- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Victual is properly pronounced (vĭt′l), with two syllables and no (k) sound. It was borrowed in the 1300s from the Old French form vitaille, which had stress and a diphthong in the second syllable, but the word was Anglicized after that to put the stress up front in the manner of most native English words. The spelling with c (and a little later with u) has a long history too, in both French and English. This spelling is a learned one, showing off the knowledge that the word came from Late Latin victuālia, "provisions." The word is now usually spelled victual, or on occasion vittle, but the pronunciation has remained (vĭt′l).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

victuals

(ˈvɪtəlz)

pl n

(Cookery) (sometimes singular) food or provisions

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Victuals

articles of food collectively.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	victuals - a stock or supply of foods commissariat, provisions, viands, provender food, nutrient - any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue food cache - food in a secure or hidden storage place larder - a supply of food especially for a household
	2.	victuals - a source of materials to nourish the body aliment, alimentation, nourishment, nutriment, sustenance, nutrition food, nutrient - any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue milk - produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young course - part of a meal served at one time; "she prepared a three course meal" dainty, goody, kickshaw, treat, delicacy - something considered choice to eat dish - a particular item of prepared food; "she prepared a special dish for dinner" fast food - inexpensive food (hamburgers or chicken or milkshakes) prepared and served quickly finger food - food to be eaten with the fingers ingesta - solid and liquid nourishment taken into the body through the mouth kosher - food that fulfills the requirements of Jewish dietary law meal, repast - the food served and eaten at one time mess - soft semiliquid food; "a mess of porridge" mince - food chopped into small bits; "a mince of mushrooms" puree - food prepared by cooking and straining or processed in a blender stodge - heavy and filling (and usually starchy) food wheat germ - embryo of the wheat kernel; removed before milling and eaten as a source of vitamins vitamin - any of a group of organic substances essential in small quantities to normal metabolism
	3.	victuals - any substance that can be used as food comestible, eatable, edible, pabulum, victual food, nutrient - any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue tuck - eatables (especially sweets)

victuals

plural noun (Old-fashioned) food, supplies, stores, provisions, eats (slang), meat, bread, rations, tack (informal), grub (slang), kai (N.Z. informal), nosh (slang), edibles, comestibles, nosebag (slang), vittles (obsolete), viands, eatables The fleet carries victuals only for six weeks.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

ravitaillement réserve

victuals

pl → Lebensmittel pl; (for journey) → Proviant m, → Verpflegung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

victuals

[ˈvɪtlz] npl (old) → vettovaglie fpl

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It is a shameful and unblessed thing, to take the scum of people, and wicked condemned men, to be the people with whom you plant; and not only so, but it spoileth the plantation; for they will ever live like rogues, and not fall to work, but be lazy, and do mischief, and spend victuals, and be quickly weary, and then certify over to their country, to the discredit of the plantation.

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"Only those very insignificant ones of Victuals and Drink."(answered she.)

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"We sailed from Peru," he says, "(where we had continued by the space of one whole year) for China and Japan, by the South Sea, taking with us victuals for twelve months." And through all the story we are not told who the "we" were or what their names or business.

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Now, in the first place, I should be loth to wait till to-morrow when I have the means of appeasing my hunger already before me: in the second place, the solid viands of to-day are more to my taste than the dainties that are promised me; in the third place, I don't see to-morrow's banquet, and how can I tell that it is not all a fable, got up by the greasy-faced fellow that is advising me to abstain in order that he may have all the good victuals to himself?