Nutrients

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Essential substances that support growth and energy metabolism in living organisms are critical for maintaining overall health and physiological functions
2. Vital chemical compounds necessary for sustaining life processes and enhancing well-being are classified as crucial dietary elements for organisms
3. Compounds that organisms need to obtain from their environment to grow and survive

Etymology: "Nutrients" is the plural of "nutrient," and the word is best understood through its Latin source. "Nutrient" was borrowed from the Latin "nūtriēns," the present participle of "nūtriō," meaning "to suckle, nourish, foster." The original sense is therefore one of feeding a young creature, something close to a nursing mother's milk, before it broadened to any substance that sustains life. The Latin verb itself is the root of a family of English words. "Nourish" and "nutriment" come from the same stem, as does "nurse" through a different path. The shared idea is care for a growing thing: a child, a plant, or a body that must be kept alive and developing. The modern sense of "growth-supporting food substances" keeps that original purpose, since nutrients are exactly what a body needs in order to grow and sustain itself.

Synonyms: nourishments, vitamins, minerals, elements, foodstuffs

Antonyms: toxins, waste, poisons, contaminants, deficiencies