Achate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for provisions or victuals bought in order to feed a household or company
2. Obsolete word for food and supplies acquired by purchase, especially for a household's daily needs
3. Old-fashioned name for the stores of food and necessities bought for a household or group to eat

Etymology: In Old French, "acate" meant a purchase or a buying, and it came from the verb "acater", to buy. English borrowed it in the Middle English period as "achate", with the same sense of a transaction, and it later came to mean the goods bought rather than the act of buying. The same French root produced the English "cates", meaning fine food or delicacies, and "caterer", the person who buys provisions for a household or institution. "Achate" itself dropped out of everyday use, so its trail now runs mostly through those relatives.

Synonyms: agate