Dictionary

footmeal en · ADV

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.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable, rare) Step by step: incrementally, little by little, by degrees, one foot (measure) at a time.
   • Grandees must covet condos, since they let bids rip, And "spaces" measured footmeal now reach record tops. 2001, Arnold Klein, Rangefinder & Powderhorn:

footmeal en · NOUN

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.

Meanings

1. (obsolete) A fotmal.

Forms

Relateds

piecemeal · stepmeal

Synonyms

little by little