meat
UK[miːt]US[miːt]
n
the flesh of an animal or bird eaten as food.
n
the edible part of something (such as a nut or fruit).
Etymology
the modern english word 'meat' originates from the old english 'mete', which broadly meant 'food' or 'an item of food'. this term is of germanic origin, related to old frisian 'mete', old saxon 'meti', and old high german 'maz', all sharing the core sense of nourishment. over time, the meaning in english narrowed significantly from the general concept of 'food' to specifically denote animal flesh used as food, a semantic specialization that occurred by the late middle english period. the older, broader sense survives in certain compounds and fixed expressions like 'nutmeat' and 'the meat of the matter'.
Analysis
the word is a simplex unit derived from old english 'mete' (food, item of food).
Examples
we need to buy some meat for the barbecue this weekend.
the meat of the coconut is white and sweet.
he got straight to the meat of his argument without any pleasantries.