1. That which nourishes; anything which promotes growth and repairs the natural waste of animal or vegetable life; food; aliment. The stomach returns what it has received, in strength and nutriment diffused into all parts of the body. South.
2. That which promotes development or growth. Is not virtue in mankind The nutriment that feeds the mind Swift.
NUTRIMENTAL
Nu`tri*men"tal, a.
Defn: Nutritious.
NUTRITIAL
Nu*tri"tial, a.
Defn: Pertaining to, or connected with, nutrition; nutritious. [Obs.]
Chapman.
NUTRITION
Nu*tri"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. nutrition. See Nutritious.]
1. (Physiol.)
Defn: In the broadest sense, a process or series of processes by which the living organism as a whole (or its component parts or organs) is maintained in its normal condition of life and growth.
Note: In this wide sense it comprehends digestion, absorption, circulation, assimilation, etc., in fact all of the steps by which the nutritive matter of the food is fitted for incorporation with the different tissues, and the changes which it undergoes after its assimilation, prior to its excretion. See Metabolism.