victual

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 26, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>victual</strong> &#149; \VIT-ul\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> food usable by people</p> <p><strong>2 victuals</strong> <em>plural</em> <strong>:</strong> supplies of food <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provisions">provisions</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"One day, I will have a large and well-organized fruit and vegetable garden that will furnish far more of my <em>victuals</em>." — <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/the-vegetable-garden-priceless-in-a-pandemic/2020/08/11/a3a98af2-d75d-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html">Adrian Higgins, <em>The Washington Post</em>, 12 Aug. 2020</a></p> <p>"'Why, she's hungry, poor little lady,' said the younger woman. 'Give her some o' the cold <em>victual</em>. You've been walking a good way, I'll be bound, my dear. Where's your home?'" — <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_mill_on_the_Floss_by_George_Eliot_St/duUBAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22You%27ve+been+walking+a+good+way%22&amp;pg=PA97&amp;printsec=frontcover">George Eliot, <em>The Mill on the Floss</em>, 1860</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>If you're hungry for the story behind <em>victual</em>, get ready to dig into a rich and fulfilling history. The word derives via the Middle English and Anglo-French <em>vitaille</em> from the Late Latin plural noun <em>victualia</em> ("provisions"), and ultimately (by way of <em>victus</em>, meaning "nourishment" or "way of living") the Latin verb <em>vivere</em>, meaning "to live." <em>Vivere</em> is the source of a whole smorgasbord of other English words, such as <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vital">vital</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vivid