mealtide means the tide or time when one receives their part, portion, or measure of food; the hour for a meal; mealtime. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
Why “mealtide” is a great word
MEALTIDE — [Noun] The time or hour appointed for a meal. From Middle English meeletide, equivalent to meal (“repast”) + -tide (“time, period, hour”). Compare Dutch maaltijd and German Mahlzeit. First attested in Old English (c. 1655 or earlier). Unlike “mealtime,” a prosaic slot in the day’s schedule, or “repast,” which speaks only of the food consumed, mealtide evokes the ceremonial architecture of the hour itself. It is the bell calling laborers from the field, the deliberate laying aside of tools, and the collective drawing of chairs as shadows lengthen—a fixed point in the turning day, a secular tide marking the rhythm of care and community.
Etymology
From Middle English meeletide, equivalent to meal + -tide (“time, period, hour”). Compare Dutch maaltijd, German Mahlzeit, Icelandic máltíð.
noun
- The tide or time when one receives their part, portion, or measure of food; the hour for a meal; mealtime.“Bleeding at heart is he Who has to ask For food at every mealtide.”