provender

noun

prov·​en·​der ˈprä-vən-dər 

1

: dry food for domestic animals : feed

2

: food, victuals

Did you know?

When English speakers first chewed on the word provender around 1300, it referred to a stipend (also known as a prebend) that a clergyman received from his cathedral or collegiate church. Within a half a century, the word's current meanings had developed. These days you're most likely to encounter provender in articles written by food and travel writers. A few such writers confuse provender with purveyor, meaning "a person or business that sells or provides something," but most of them keep the words straight, as Deidre Schipani does in this quote from the Post and Courier, of Charleston, South Carolina: "The kitchen remains true to its local roots. Buying from island farmers, fisherman, shrimpers, butchers and small local artisans keeps the provender and purveyors in alignment."

Synonyms

• bread
• chow
• chuck [chiefly West]
• comestibles
• eatables
• eats
• edibles
• fare
• food
• foodstuffs
• grub
• meat
• provisions
• table
• tucker [chiefly Australian]
• viands
• victuals
• vittles

Examples of provender in a Sentence

a chef who prides himself on creating all of his dishes from local provender

Recent Examples on the Web

The outdoor market is a repository of Normandy foods with all the region’s seasonal provender, right now teeming with wild mushrooms. —John Mariani, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021

No matter, the paucity of provender assured that no one would miss the arrival of King Jayme and Queen Jason. —al, 20 Feb. 2020

This, combined with a burgeoning demand for local provender on the part of city restaurants, fertilized a revival of small-scale agriculture in the region. —Bryan Miller, Town & Country, 8 Sep. 2013

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French provende, provendre, from Medieval Latin provenda, alteration of praebenda prebend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

provender

noun

prov·​en·​der ˈpräv-ən-dər 

1

: dry food for domestic animals : feed

2

: food sense 1