Meanings
plural mealtides · alternative meal-tide · alternative meal tide
- archaiccountableuncountableThe tide or time when one receives their part, portion, or measure of food; the hour for a meal; mealtime.
Bleeding at heart is he Who has to ask For food at every mealtide.
1903, Ottilia Adelina Liljencrantz, The ward of King Canute2 more examples
At Sandwich, ‘mine host Gyllam De La Towr’ was paid 6s 8d ‘for our mealtides from Sunday till Friday’.
2002, Alison Hanham, The Celys and Their WorldShe hid her thoughts and led Arinbjorn onward. It was close to mealtide at the hall when she let him go.
2003, Poul Anderson, Mother of Kings
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Middle Englishmeeletide
- Englishmealtide
From Middle English meeletide, equivalent to meal + -tide (“time, period, hour”). Compare Dutch maaltijd, German Mahlzeit, Icelandic máltíð.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mealtide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealtide
“mealtide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealtide. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mealtide,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealtide.
Source: mealtide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.