oatmeal
UK[ˈəʊtmiːl]US[ˈoʊtmiːl]
n
A coarse flour made by grinding oats, or a porridge made by boiling this in water or milk.
n
A pale grayish-brown color.
Morpheme Breakdown
oat
meal
oat
plant
meal
ground substance
Etymology
The word 'oatmeal' is a transparent English compound, directly combining the names of its two components. 'Oat' descends from Old English 'āte', a term for the cereal grain whose cultivation in Europe dates back millennia. The second element, 'meal', originates from the Old English 'melu', meaning "ground substance" or "flour", derived from the Proto-Germanic verb malaną, "to grind". The compound itself, formed in Middle English, therefore literally means "ground oats". This literal meaning persists in its primary modern sense for the ingredient or the porridge made from it, with a secondary sense describing the color typical of that porridge.
Analysis
Structure: oat (plant) + meal (ground substance)
oat: From Old English 'āte', referring to the cereal plant. Its ultimate origin is uncertain but likely Germanic.
meal: From Old English 'melu', meaning "ground grain" or "flour", from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to grind".
Examples
For a healthy breakfast, she prefers a bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries.
The recipe calls for one cup of oatmeal to be mixed with the flour.
The walls were painted a warm, soothing shade of oatmeal.