Nutrition

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /njuːˈtɹɪʃ.ən/

Definitions

1. The process of consuming and utilizing food substances that provide energy and support growth, health, and bodily functions
2. The intake and assimilation of food substances that contribute to growth, energy production, and overall health maintenance
3. The practice of acquiring and metabolizing food ingredients essential for sustaining life, energy levels, and bodily development

Etymology: The Latin root behind "nutrition" is "nutrire," meaning to nourish or feed, and it is the same stem that gives us "nurse" in its older sense of one who suckles or raises a child. The Latin noun "nutritio" was the act of nourishing, and it passed into Middle French as "nutrition" and then into English, where the word has stayed fairly close to its original meaning of nourishment through food. The word is a straightforward borrowing rather than a native English formation. English took it through French, which had itself inherited "nutricion" from Old French, so its path into the language ran through the Romance-speaking world rather than directly from Latin. Its spelling and stress reflect that route, with the familiar "-tion" ending that marks many words borrowed from French and Latin.

Synonyms: nourishment, sustenance, diet

Antonyms: malnutrition, starvation