meat

Etymology

From Middle English mete, from Old English mete (“food”), from Proto-West Germanic *mati, from Proto-Germanic *matiz (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to drip, ooze; grease, fat”). Cognate with West Frisian mete, Old Saxon meti, Old High German maz (“food”), Icelandic matur, Swedish mat, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐍃 (mats). A -ja- derivation from the same base is found in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German met (“lean pork”), from which Dutch met (“minced pork”) and German Mett (“minced meat”) derive, respectively. Compare also Old Irish mess (“animal feed”) and Welsh mes (“acorns”), English mast (“fodder for swine and other animals”), which are probably from the same root.

noun

1. (uncountable) The flesh (muscle tissue) of an animal used as food.
   A large portion of domestic meat production comes from animals raised on factory farms.
   The homesteading teenager shot a deer to supply his family with wild meat for the winter.
   In many parts of the world, shark meat is an acceptable and desirable form of protein. 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, page 144
   While people who eat no meat at all are identified and identifiable as vegetarians, there is no commonly accepted term for people who eat it only a couple of times a week and are selective about its quality. 19 October 2010, Andy Atkins, “Debate on meat-eating does not cut the mustard”, in The Guardian
2. (countable) A type of meat, by anatomic position and provenance.
   The butchery's profit rate on various meats varies greatly.
3. (now archaic, dialectal) Food, for animals or humans, especially solid food. See also meat and drink.
   As full of fun and frolic as an egg is full of meat. 1879, Silas Hocking, Her Benny
   The way she said ‘dinner’ and the way she said ‘champagne’ gave meat and liquid their exact difference[…]. 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber, published 2007, page 13
4. (now rare) A type of food, a dish.
5. (archaic) A meal.
6. (obsolete) Meal; flour.
7. (uncountable) Any relatively thick, solid part of a fruit, nut etc.
   The apple looked fine on the outside, but the meat was not very firm.
   She took her spoon and stirred the melted butter into the yellow meat of the yam. 1954, Cothburn O'Neal, The Dark Lady, page 12
8. (slang) A penis.
   He sits me on the floor (the shower is still beating down on us). He lays me down and slides his huge meat into me. 1993, Nancy Friday, Women on top: how real life has changed women's sexual fantasies, page 538
   Just the tight, hot caress of his bowels surrounding my meat gave me pleasures I had only dreamed of before that day. 2006, John Patrick, Play Hard, Score Big, page 54
   Both men were completely, and very actively into this face fucking! Suddenly Bill pulled off of Jim's meat and said, 2011, Wade Wright, Two Straight Guys, page 41
9. (colloquial) The best or most substantial part of something.
   We recruited him right from the meat of our competitor.
   […]it is time to begin "A Dialogue between Viator and Piscator," which is the meat of the matter. 1577, Gerald Eades Bentley, The Arte of Angling
10. (sports) The sweet spot of a bat or club (in cricket, golf, baseball etc.).
    He hit it right on the meat of the bat.
11. (slang) A meathead.
    Throw it in here, meat.
12. (Australian Aboriginal) A totem, or (by metonymy) a clan or clansman which uses it.
    When a stranger comes to an aboriginal camp or settlement in north-western NSW, he is asked by one of the older aborigines: "What meat (clan) are you?" 1949, Vol.XX, Oceania
    Granny Sullivan was ‘dead against’ the match at first because they did not know "what my meat was and because I was a bit on the fair side." 1973, M. Fennel, A. Grey, Nucoorilma
    Some people maintained that she was "sung" because her family had killed or eaten the "meat" (totem) of another group. 1977, A. K. Eckermann, Group Organisation and Identity
    Our family[…]usually married the red kangaroo "meat". 1992, P. Taylor, Tell it Like it Is
    1993, J. Janson, Gunjies That’s a beautiful goanna. […]. He’s my meat, can’t eat him.