footmeal

F4O1O1T1M3E1A1L1

adverb

Step by step: incrementally, little by little, by degrees, one foot (measure) at a time.

Similar
little by little
OriginMiddle English footmele ← Old English fōtmǣlum →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

adverbfootmeal (not comparable)
  1. not comparablerareStep by step: incrementally, little by little, by degrees, one foot (measure) at a time.

    Grandees must covet condos, since they let bids rip, And "spaces" measured footmeal now reach record tops.

    2001, Arnold Klein, Rangefinder & Powderhorn
nounfootmeal (plural footmeals)

plural footmeals

  1. obsoleteunits of measureA fotmal.

    Synonyms: little by little

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA fotmal.

Similar
little by little
Also see
bit by bitgraduallyincrementallymomentlystep by step

Origin

  1. Old Englishfōtmǣl“a foot-measure, one foot”
  2. Old Englishfōtmǣlum“step by step, by degrees”
  3. Middle Englishfootmele
  4. Englishfootmeal

From Middle English footmele, fotmelen, from Old English fōtmǣlum (“step by step, by degrees”), dative plural of Old English fōtmǣl (“a foot-measure, one foot”), equivalent to foot + -meal.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

footmeal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/footmeal

MLA

“footmeal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/footmeal. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “footmeal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/footmeal.

Source: footmeal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.