nourishment

[ nur-ish-muhnt, nuhr- ]

noun

1. something that nourishes; food, nutriment, or sustenance.
2. the act of nourishing. nourishing.
3. the state of being nourished.
4. a process, system, method, etc., of providing or administering nourishment:

   a treatise on the nourishment of international trade.

nourishment

/ ˈnʌrɪʃmənt /

noun

1. the act or state of nourishing
2. a substance that nourishes; food; nutriment

Other Words From

• non·nourish·ment noun
• over·nourish·ment noun
• re·nourish·ment noun
• self-nourish·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nourishment¹

1375–1425; late Middle English norysshement < Middle French norissement. See nourish, -ment

Example Sentences

Although mosquitoes can carry diseases, they are an important part of the food chain - as nourishment for fish, birds, bats and frogs, for example - and some are important pollinators.

From BBC

Such are our funeral parlors for food, where mechanical reproduction haunts nourishment and we eat from the giant slot machines of industry.

From Los Angeles Times

Do you find nourishment of some kind in church music?

From Los Angeles Times

This flexibility is an important part of our mission because it aligns with our goal of providing both nourishment and comfort.

From Salon

Recipes and stories are equal amounts of nourishment, especially for someone like me, who wanted to know more about what El Salvador was like.

From Salon

Related Words

• nutrition
• sustenance

More About Nourishment

What does nourishment mean?

Nourishment is something that nourishes—does or provides what’s needed for someone or something to be healthy and to grow and develop.

It can also refer to the act of nourishing or the state of being nourished. Nourish and nourishment are most commonly used in relation to food. Healthy food provides nourishment. Parents try to provide nourishment for their children by feeding them healthy foods. Sometimes, food is said to nourish more than the body, as in A warm, home-cooked meal is nourishment for the body and the spirit. 

However, nourishment can be used in many other contexts, including those that don’t involve food, as in educational nourishment.

In all of these senses, nourishment is a somewhat formal and perhaps poetic word—it usually refers to something that serves to sustain rather than just feed.

Example: As a mother, it’s my job to provide physical, mental, and emotional nourishment for my kids.

Where does nourishment come from?

The first records of the word nourishment come from around 1400. The suffix -ment is used to make it a noun. Its base word, nourish, comes from the Latin verb nūtrīre, meaning “to feed” or “to care for.” The words nurture, nutrition, nutritious, and nurse are based on the same root.

Nourishment is closely associated with food, and even its senses that don’t literally involve food are usually likened to the kind of nourishment that food provides for the body. This is almost always positive: love and affection provide emotional nourishment; learning provides mental nourishment.

The word malnourishment means the same thing as malnutrition—poor nutrition caused by a lack of nourishing food.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to nourishment?

• malnourishment (noun)
• nourish (verb)

What are some synonyms for nourishment?

• nutrition
• sustenance
• nurture (when nurture is used as a noun)
• cultivation

What are some words that share a root or word element with nourishment? 

• nurture
• nutrition
• nutritious
• nurse

What are some words that often get used in discussing nourishment?

• food
• body
• mind
• soul
• spiritual
• emotional
• physical
• nutrient
• healthy
• grow
• strong
• develop

How is nourishment used in real life?

Nourishment and its related words are closely associated with food, but they can be used in a variety of contexts.

Maria and her friend play as the sun sets in Zambia. Her father Clement, receives UNICEF-supported cash transfers, which help him give her nourishment and protection.

Support for children and families isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. pic.twitter.com/AYPFp3Dbwn

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) November 4, 2020

Some parents become so fixated on putting food on the table that they neglect the child’s emotional nourishment and that’s sad.

— gaialect (@gaialect) June 1, 2019

Try a week off without internet with nothing but just books, phones off, no TV, no radio no media consumption. You'll appreciate the mental nourishment.

— Kenya West© (@KinyanBoy) December 5, 2017

 

Try using nourishment!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of nourishment?

A. sustenance
B. nurture
C. weakness
D. nutrition