comestible

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English

WOTD – 5 February 2013, 5 February 2015

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French comestible, or its source, Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comedō (“I eat”), from com- (English com-) + edō (“I eat”) (as in English edible), from Proto-Indo-European (whence also English eat). Cognate with Spanish comestible (“grocery”).

Attested as adjective in late 15th century, from Middle French, but fell from use in the 17th century, thence reintroduced from Modern French in 19th century.^[1]

Corresponding terms in various Romance languages, more distant cognates include Portuguese and Spanish comida.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kəˈmɛstəbl̩/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(Received Pronunciation, also) IPA^(key): /kəˈmɛstɪbl̩/
Hyphenation US: co‧mes‧ti‧ble; UK: com‧est‧ible

Adjective

comestible (comparative more comestible, superlative most comestible)

Suitable to be eaten; edible. [From 15th c.]
- 1536, Thomas Elyot, Castell of Helth:
  Some herbes are most comestible.
- 1972 March 6, Richard W. Langer, “Sage, Rosemary and Thyme: Growing Your Own Fresh Herbs”, in New York, page 40:
  What with freeze-dried chives costing $96 a pound, and those snipped fresh for the omelette from the potted garden on the kitchen ledge almost free, the bountiful begonia has given way in many apartments to more comestible greenery.
- 1993, M. J. Trow, Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring, published 2000, page 112:
  Lestrade raised his mug in a loyal toast while Lady Pauline saw to the more comestible sort for breakfast.
- 2007, Rene Simo, The Little Gringo: Love and Martyrdom in Cameroon, page 12:
  From the palm nut we derive palm oil, the most comestible oil in our country and in the whole of Africa.

Usage notes

Relatively formal; edible is the usual term, while eatable is rather informal.

Synonyms

(suitable to be eaten): eatable, edible, esculent

Coordinate terms

drinkable, potable

Derived terms

Translations

suitable to be eaten; edible

Arabic: صَالِح لِلْأَكَل (ṣāliḥ lilʔakal)
Armenian: ուտելի (hy) (uteli)
Bulgarian: ядлив (jadliv)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 可食 (zh) (kěshí)
Czech: jedlý (cs), poživatelný
Danish: spiselige
Dutch: eetwaren (nl)
Finnish: syötävä (fi), syömäkelpoinen
French: comestible (fr)
German: essbar (de), genießbar (de), Speise-
Greek: φαγώσιμος (el) m (fagósimos)
Italian: commestibile (it), mangereccio (it), mangiabile (it)
Japanese: 食べられる (taberareru), 食用に適する (shokuyō ni teki suru)
Korean: 먹을 수 있는 (meogeul su inneun)
Mongolian: хүнсний нөөц (xünsnii nööc)
Norwegian: spiselig
Persian: خوردنی (fa) (xordani)
Portuguese: comestível (pt)
Russian: съедо́бный (ru) (sʺjedóbnyj)
Slovak: jedlý (sk), požívateľný
Spanish: comestible (es), comible (es) (colloquial)
Swedish: ätbar (sv), ätlig (sv)
Turkish: yenebilir, yenilebilir (tr)
Ukrainian: їстівни́й (uk) (jistivnýj)

Noun

comestible (plural comestibles)

(chiefly in the plural) Anything that can be eaten; food. [From 19th c.]
Synonyms: foodstuff, sustenance, victuals; see also Thesaurus:food
- 1910, Frank Richards, The Greyfriar′s Picnic:
  Comestibles of all sorts came to view, and a smell of cooking spread itself among the trees.
- 1986 February, Joan Fox, “Restaurants: Just Like Mama Used to Cook”, in Cincinnati Magazine, page 116:
  Both serve up, with no fanfare, country comestibles.
- June 4^th, 1989, “Pete Granger” (username), Hack Tutorial, Part 03/03, rec.games.hack:
  For instance, a food ration can be polymorphed into a carrot, a tripe ration, or any other comestible.
- 2003, Priscilla Boniface, Tasting Tourism: Travelling for Food and Drink, page 74:
  Precisely that, for example, homemade food, craft pottery, rough-hewn wood furniture, and consumption of comestibles in a barn, are not the usual daily experience is the reason it is fun, enticing and a contrast for a person when on holiday.

Usage notes

Rather formal; the simple term food is far more common. Similarly, the term beverage often serves as a formal equivalent of the more common drink. In both cases, the more elevated term (comestible, beverage) is of French origin, while the plain term (food, drink) is of Old English origin, and this stylistic difference by origin is common; see list of English words with dual French and Anglo-Saxon variations.