English word origin

Etymology of -meal

From Middle English -mele, from Old English -mǣlum (“at times”), from Proto-Germanic *mēlamiz, instrumental case of Proto-Germanic *mēlą (“measure; time”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian -moal, Dutch -maal, German Low Ge

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

suffix

Used to denote a fixed number, measure, or amount at a time.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mention-meleenm
Inherited-form mention-mǣlumang · at times
Inherited-form mention*mēlamizgem-pro
Derivation mention*mēlągem-pro · measure; time
Cognate mention-moalstq
Cognate mention-maalnl
Cognate mention-malde

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-mele"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -mele"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "-mǣlum",
        "t": "at times"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English -mǣlum (“at times”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*mēlamiz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *mēlamiz"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*mēlą",
        "t": "measure; time"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *mēlą (“measure; time”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "-moal"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian -moal"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-maal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch -maal"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "-maal"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German -maal"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "-mal"
      },
      "expansion": "German -mal"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-mele",
      "-mele#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-mǣlum",
      "-mælum#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*mēlamiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mēlamiz"
    ],
    [
      "*mēlą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mēlą"
    ],
    [
      "-moal",
      "-moal#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "-maal",
      "-maal#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "-maal",
      "-maal#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "-mal",
      "-mal#German"
    ],
    [
      "meal",
      "meal#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Used to denote a fixed number, measure, or amount at a time."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "rare"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

suffix

Denotes a powder made of ground cereal.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English mele, from Old English melu (“meal, flour”), from Proto-Germanic *melwą (“meal, flour”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to grind, mill”). More at meal.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionmeleenm
Inherited-form mentionmeluang · meal, flour
Inherited-form mention*melwągem-pro · meal, flour
Derivation mention*melh₂-ine-pro · to grind, mill

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "mele"
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      "expansion": "Middle English mele"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "melu",
        "t": "meal, flour"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English melu (“meal, flour”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*melwą",
        "t": "meal, flour"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *melwą (“meal, flour”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*melh₂-",
        "t": "to grind, mill"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to grind, mill”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "mele",
      "mele#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "melu",
      "melu#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*melwą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/melwą"
    ],
    [
      "*melh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/melh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "meal",
      "meal#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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        "Denotes a powder made of ground cereal."
      ],
      "tags": [
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -meal →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-LW1lYWw