Eaten

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈiːtn̩/

Definitions

1. Consumed or ingested as food by a living being ; completely devoured or utilized up ; impacted or spoiled by an external agent such as corrosion or erosion
2. Taken into the body by eating ; fully used or exhausted ; harmed or impaired through exposure or influence
3. Has had food taken into the stomach ; has been entirely consumed or worn away ; has suffered damage or degradation from an outside source

Etymology: "Eaten" is the past participle of "eat," and the verb it comes from has been in English since the earliest recorded period, descending from Old English "eten" and the Proto-Germanic "etanaz." The participle itself is built by adding the "-en" ending to the stem "eat," a pattern shared by many older English verbs such as "broken," "driven," and "written." Its ending preserves an old form that once appeared widely across Germanic languages, which is why "eaten" sounds so much more archaic than it looks. Because "eat" is a strong verb, its past participle was formed by vowel change and suffix rather than a regular "-ed" ending. English speakers at various points used both "ate" and "eaten" in participial roles, and the "-en" form gradually settled into its current grammatical job, showing completed action in phrases like "has eaten" or "was eaten."

Synonyms: consumed, devoured, ingested

Antonyms: uneaten