victual

Etymology

Came into English as Middle English vitaile or vitaylle (“food; food and drink, especially as needed for sustenance; (usually in the plural) food and drink stores or supplies; rations; provision of food and drink as a military stipend; crops”), among other forms, from Anglo-Norman vitaile, vitaille, among other forms, and Old French vitaile, vitaille, victaille (“food, provisions, victuals”), among other forms (modern French victuaille), which in turn came from Late Latin vīctuālia, the neuter plural of vīctuālis (“nutritional”), from Latin vīctus (“that which sustains life, diet, nourishment, provision”) plus -ālis (a suffix forming adjectives of relationship from nouns). Vīctus itself derives from vīvō (“to live; to be alive, survive; to reside in”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”), plus -tus (a suffix forming action nouns from verbs). The spelling of the modern English and French words was shaped by Late Latin vīctuālia, though the pronunciation of the Middle English, Anglo-Norman and Middle French words has stayed.