Nourishing

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Promoting health by supplying vital nutrients necessary for growth and overall well-being
2. Treating organisms to essential substances that foster development and maintain life quality
3. Helping support growth and good health by supplying key nutrients needed by living beings

Etymology: "Nourishing" is the present participle of the verb "nourish," which came into English in the 13th century from Old French "norrir" (later "nourrir"), itself from Latin "nutrire," meaning "to suckle, feed, or nurture." The Latin verb is tied to "nutrix," a wet nurse, so the word's original picture is of a nursing mother rather than of a diet or a balanced meal. The adjective shows the same pattern as other participles that became descriptive words. "Nourishing" first described a person or thing actively feeding someone, and over time it came to describe food and drink that does this well. The sense of nurturing care in the broader sense, as in a "nourishing environment," developed from that physical base.

Synonyms: nutritious, wholesome, sustaining, nourishing, beneficial

Antonyms: unhealthy, nutrient-poor, harmful, depleting, toxic