meat-eater

The compound "meat-eater" is a transparent and descriptive formation from two native English elements. The word "meat" originally had the broad meaning of "food" in Old English, a sense preserved in phrases like "meat and drink." Over time, its meaning narrowed specifically to "animal flesh as food," influenced by the need to distinguish it from other food types. "Eater" is a straightforward agent noun. When combined, the compound's literal logic—"one who eats flesh"—directly yields its modern meanings, first applied to carnivorous animals and later extended humorously or emphatically to humans with a strong dietary preference for meat.

Structure: meat (substance) + eater (one who does) meat: From Old English 'mete' (food, nourishment, item of food). In this compound, it specifies the type of food as animal flesh. eater: From Old English 'etere' (one who eats), an agent noun derived from the verb 'etan' (to eat). It functions as a suffix denoting a person or thing that performs the action.