Seafood
/ˈsiː.fuːd/noun
Edible marine animals, plants, or other products obtained from the sea.
Did you know?The word is a relatively modern English compound, even though sea and food descend from very old Germanic and Indo-European vocabulary.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peh₂-
“To protect, nourish, or feed; the reconstructed root behind the food family.”
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*saiwiz
“Sea or large body of salt water, ancestral to English sea.”
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*fōdō
“Food or nourishment, derived from the root associated with feeding and nourishment.”
Old English
Old English
sǣ
“Sea; a large expanse of salt water.”
Old English
Old English
fōda
“Food, nourishment, or something eaten.”
Middle English
Middle English
fode
“Food or nourishment; the spelling later developed toward modern food.”
19th Century
English
seafood
“A compound meaning food obtained from the sea; recorded in modern English from the 19th century.”