roughage en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈɹʌfɪd͡ʒ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From rough (“not smooth; crude, unrefined”) + -age (suffix forming nouns with the sense of appurtenance or collection).
Meanings
- (countable, uncountable) Originally (archaic), garbage, rubbish, or waste; later (agriculture) the portions of a crop which are discarded, such as husks, stalks, etc.; also, agricultural waste such as weeds.
- (countable, uncountable) Coarse or rough plant material such as hay and silage used as animal fodder.
-
(countable, qualifier:nutrition, uncountable) Substances, generally of plant origin, consisting mostly of complex carbohydrates which are undigested when eaten by humans, and which therefore help the passage of food and waste through the alimentary tract; dietary fibre.
I keep telling her not to eat all that roughage for brekky; prunes, bran, and baked beans.
1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 188:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| roughages | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| ruffage | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
Descendants
Synonyms
Translations (12)
fi karkearehu (coarse or rough plant material used as animal fodder) · fi silppu (coarse or rough plant material used as animal fodder) · pl błonnik (substances which are undigested when eaten by humans, and which therefore help the passage of food and waste through the alimentary tract — see also dietary fibre) · ms pelawas (substances which are undigested when eaten by humans, and which therefore help the passage of food and waste through the alimentary tract — see also dietary fibre) · fi rouhe (coarse or rough plant material used as animal fodder) · de Raufutter (coarse or rough plant material used as animal fodder) · pl pasza objętościowa (coarse or rough plant material used as animal fodder) · hi रुक्षांश (substances which are undigested when eaten by humans, and which therefore help the passage of food and waste through the alimentary tract — see also dietary fibre) · hi रफ़ेज (substances which are undigested when eaten by humans, and which therefore help the passage of food and waste through the alimentary tract — see also dietary fibre) · bg груб/твърд материал (coarse or rough plant material used as animal fodder) · ur رفیج (substances which are undigested when eaten by humans, and which therefore help the passage of food and waste through the alimentary tract — see also dietary fibre) · pl balast (portions of a crop which are discarded; agricultural waste such as weeds)