witch-meal

noun

A flash powder made from club moss; vegetable sulphur.

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Meanings

nounwitch-meal (uncountable)

alternative witchmeal · alternative witches' meal

  1. obsoleteuncountableA flash powder made from club moss; vegetable sulphur.

    […] substance which Graine knew to be 'witch-meal'; the seeds of dried lycopodium moss; the other set the dust on fire with a burning stick, the flame pursuing the flying particles till they were consumed, when the light flashed out[…]

    1915, Alice Mona CAIRD, The Stones of Sacrifice, page 275

Origin

A figurative use of the word meal, prompted by fancied resemblance.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: witch-meal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.