footmeal
English
Etymology
From Middle English footmele, fotmelen, from Old English fōtmǣlum (“step by step, by degrees”), dative plural of Old English fōtmǣl (“a foot-measure, one foot”), equivalent to foot + -meal.
Adverb
footmeal (not comparable)
- (rare) Step by step: incrementally, little by little, by degrees, one foot (measure) at a time.
- 2001, Arnold Klein, Rangefinder & Powderhorn:
- Grandees must covet condos, since they let bids rip, And "spaces" measured footmeal now reach record tops.
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Synonyms
- See little by little
See also
- fotmal
- piecemeal
- stepmeal