Inedibles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances or items that are not suitable or safe for eating either due to toxicity, hardness, or unpleasant taste
2. Materials or objects that cannot be consumed by humans because they are harmful, inedible, or lack nutritional value
3. Things characterized as unsuitable for ingestion because they are poisonous, indigestible, or generally not meant to be eaten

Etymology: "Inedibles" is simply the plural of "inedible," so it is the plural form of the adjective "inedible," which means not fit to be eaten. The adjective is built from the prefix "in-," meaning "not," attached to "edible," which comes from the Latin "edere," meaning "to eat." Adding "in-" to an existing word of Latin origin is a common English pattern, so the formation is transparent: a thing that cannot be eaten. The plural noun use, meaning materials or objects that cannot be consumed, is a later extension of that adjective into a noun for a category of things. Its meaning therefore rests on the same core idea of being unfit for eating, applied to whole classes of substances and objects rather than to a single item described as one.

Synonyms: nonedibles, inedible items, unpalatables, unfit foods, inedible substances

Antonyms: edibles, foods, comestibles, eatables, nourishments