Defining the word "meat"

Each word tends to have many definitions.  Depending on these definitions, the word can take on completely different meanings.  What we are going to do is explore some of the different definitions for meat and try to apply them throughout this website.

We will start with the most obvious place: A dictionary.  Merriam Webster defines Meat as follows:

1 a : food; especially : solid food as distinguished from drink b : the edible part of something as distinguished from its covering (as a husk or shell)
2 : animal tissue considered especially as food: a : flesh 2b; also : flesh of a mammal as opposed to fowl or fish b : flesh 1a; specifically : flesh of domesticated animals. (Merriam Webster)

What is interesting to note in this definition is 2a where it differentiates it from fowl or fish.  But many will immediately cite the first definition which is simply "animal tissue used for food" which includes fish.  Now, 2a is a sub definition and could have been included due to popular belief.  The English language is one of the few languages where we will alter definitions based on common ideals.  This may be the case, but we will continue forward.

Furthermore, let us see what Merriam Webster defines the word "Fish" as:

1 a : an aquatic animal —usually used in combination starfish; cuttlefish; b : any of numerous cold-blooded strictly aquatic craniate vertebrates that include the bony fishes and usually the cartilaginous and jawless fishes and that have typically an elongated somewhat spindle-shaped body terminating in a broad caudal fin, limbs in the form of fins when present at all, and a 2-chambered heart by which blood is sent through thoracic gills to be oxygenated
2 : the flesh of fish used as food. (Merriam Webster)

These definitions are straight-forward but we must draw a few parallels between the two definitions.  While the definition for "meat" does differentiate fish and poultry, we do see that in the definition of "fish," the terms "animal" and "flesh" are used.  This lines up with the first part of the definition of "meat."

Now looking at another resource we see that Dictionary.com defines "meat" a little bit more simply:

1.

the flesh of animals as used for food. (Dictionary.com)

And it is these types of discrepancies that lead to much of the confusion.  Now, let us continue forward with looking at the different perspectives.