Macronutrient

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of nutrients needed in substantial quantities to sustain health, encompassing proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in the human diet
2. These essential dietary elements are required in large amounts to promote health and include proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
3. A type of nutrient that the body needs in significant amounts, which includes proteins, carbohydrates, and fats crucial for maintaining health and energy levels

Etymology: The prefix at the front of this word is older than the nutrition science it now serves. It descends from Ancient Greek "makrós," meaning "long" or "large," which passed into French as the combining form "macro-" and then into English. Its opposite, "micro-," comes from the Greek "mikrós," "small," so the two prefixes form a matched pair of size words. "Nutrient" is the simpler half, built from the Latin root meaning "to nourish," the same root behind "nourish" and "nutrition." Joined to "macro-," it names substances the body needs in large quantities, as opposed to micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, which are needed only in small amounts. The compound is a modern technical formation. Its parts are ancient, but the word itself was assembled to classify nutrition, so it describes a scientific category rather than anything the Greeks or Romans would have recognised.

Synonyms: nutrient