repast
Syllables: re·past/ɹɪˈpɑːst/US/ɹɪˈpæst/
repast noun: a meal.
Noun
repast (countable and uncountable, plural repasts)
- A meal.
- After evening repaſt, till bed time their thoughts will be beſt taken up in the eaſie grounds of Religion, and the ſtory of Scripture.[1644], [John Milton], Of Education. To Master Samuel Hartlib, [London]: […] [Thomas Underhill and/or Thomas Johnson], →OCLC, page 4
- Forthwith from dance to ſweet repaſt they turn / Deſirous, all in Circles as they ſtood, / Tables are ſet, and on a ſudden pil'd / With Angels Food, and rubied Nectar flows: […]1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- A period of refreshment or rest.
- [T]he nobleſt Raptures have been conceiv'd in the Walks and ſhades of Trees, […] the Profound Philoſophers lov'd here to paſſe their lives in repoſe and Contemplation, and the frugal Repaſts—molleſque ſub arbore ſomni [a soft sleep under the tree] were the natural and chaſt delights of our...1670, John Evelyn, “. Chapter XXXV. An Historical Account of the Sacrednesse, and Use of Standing Groves, &c..”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His...
- Food or drink that may be consumed as a meal.
- I prethee go, and get me ſome repaſt, / I care not what, ſo it be holſome foode.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- In honour therefore of the Sunne, and for ſuſtenance of his Chariot-beaſts, they carefully waſh the carkaſſes of their dead, and lay them forth in the night, for repaſt vnto the Tigres, wearied with their long and late iourney in the day.1626, [Samuel] Purchas, “Of Cumana and Paria”, in Purchas His Pilgrimes. […], 5th part, London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, 9th book, § III (Of Trinidado and Paria), page...
- Something that is intellectually or spiritually nourishing.
- For nought he car'd his carcas long vnfed; / His mind was full of ſpirituall repaſt, / And pyn'd his fleſh, to keepe his body low and chaſt.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48, page 148
- Gao[ler]. Come Sir, are you ready for death? / Poſt[humus]. Ouer-roaſted rather: ready long ago. / Gao. Hanging is the word, Sir, if you bee readie for that, you are well Cook'd. / Poſt. So if I proue a good repaſt to the Spectators, the diſh payes the ſhot.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- Synonyms:
- refection
- The consumption of food; also, refreshment obtained from eating; (generally) refreshment; rest.
- Forthwith he runnes with feigned faithfull haſt / Vnto his gueſt, who after troublous ſights / And dreames gan now to take more ſound repaſt, […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 4, page 20
- I do dine today at the fathers of a certaine pupill of mine, where if (before repaſt) it ſhall pleaſe you to gratifie the table with a Grace, I will on my priuiledge I haue with the parentes of the foreſaid childe or pupill, vndertake your bien venuto, where I will proue thoſe Verſes to be very...c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby...
- Synonyms:
- refection
Verb
repast (third-person singular simple present repasts, present participle repasting, simple past and past participle repasted)
- To supply (an animal or person) with food; to feed.
- To his good friends thus wide I'le ope my armes, / And like the kind life-rendring Pelican, / Repaſt them with my blood.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604...
- The top-leaves and oldeſt would be gathered laſt of all, as being moſt proper to repaſt the worms with towards their laſt change.1670, John Evelyn, “. Chapter IX. Of the Mulberry.”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn...
- To provide (a person) with intellectual or spiritual nourishment; to enlighten, to feed.
- To refresh (oneself or someone) through eating and drinking.
- [A]nd ſoo within a lytil whyle they came to that heremytage ⸝ and there they dranke the wyne ⸝ and ete the veneſon and the foules baken ⸝ And ſo whan they had repaſted hem wel ⸝ the dwarf retorned ageyn with his veſſel vn to the caſtel ageyne ⸝ […][1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum xiv”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book VII (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC, leaf 117, verso...
- Usually followed by on or upon: to take food and drink; to feast, to feed.
- And now they reach'd the naval Walls, and found / The Guards repaſting, while the Bowls go round; […]1720, Homer, “Book XXIV”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume VI, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 170, lines 545–546
- [O]n arrival of the dinner-hour, repasteth on domestic fare, (making especial mention of certain fishes, and concluding with cheese,) […]1842, “In Praise of Porter”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume XII, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, fytte the fourth, marginal note, page 346
repast meaning in Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
repast in Urdu
- دعوت, غذا, کھانا, خوراک, طعام
repast in Malayalam
- ആഹാരം കഴിക്കൽ, വിരുന്ന്, സദ്യ
repast in Kannada
- ಊಟ, ತಿಂಡಿ
Examples of repast in a sentence
- The Winter comes, and then the falling Maſt, / For greedy Swine, provides a full repaſt.1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and...
- Earth's coarsest bread, the garden's homeliest roots, / And scarce the summer luxury of fruits, / His short repast in humbleness supply / With all a hermit's board would scarce deny.1814, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in The Corsair, a Tale, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza II, page 4, lines...
- When at last they were thoroughly toasted, the Badger summoned them to the table, where he had been busy laying a repast.1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “Mr. Badger”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 73:
- 'Tis true, tonight I ate my last of the royal repast.2010 September, Pseudonymous Bosch [pseudonym; Raphael Simon], “The Royal Kennels”, in This Isn’t What It Looks Like (The Secret Series...
Synonyms of repast
Forms of repast
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | repasts |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | repasts |
| present participle | repasting |
| past participle | repasted |
| past | repasted |
Origin of repast
From Middle English repast, repaste (“feast, meal; food, nourishment; the Eucharist; refreshment, rest”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman, Middle French, Old French repast, Middle French, Old French repas (“meal, repast; spiritual nourishment”) (modern French repas), probably from Medieval Latin, Late Latin repastus (“meal”), from repāstus, the perfect passive participle of repāscō (“to feed; to feed one after another”), from Latin re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + pāscō (“to feed, nourish; to pasture (an animal); of an animal: to browse, graze; to maintain, support”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to protect; to shepherd”)).
Partly: * from Middle English repasten (“(reflexive) to refresh (oneself) with food”) [and other forms], either from repast, repaste (“feast, meal; food, nourishment; the Eucharist; refreshment, rest”) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive forms of verbs); or from Late Latin repāstus, the perfect passive participle of repāscō (“to feed; to feed one after another”) (see further at etymology 1); and * from repast (noun).
Words formed from repast
Words that rhyme with repast
4 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about repast
- What does repast mean?
- Repast means a meal.
- What is repast in Urdu?
- Repast in Urdu is دعوت, غذا, کھانا. See Repast meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use repast in a sentence?
- The Winter comes, and then the falling Maſt, / For greedy Swine, provides a full repaſt.
- What part of speech is repast?
- Repast can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce repast?
- Repast is pronounced /ɹɪˈpɑːst/ (UK).
- What is the plural of repast?
- The plural of repast is repasts.
Words near repast in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: repast (page history and authors); repast (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); repast (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); repast (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-repast.wav.
Cite this entry: “repast.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/repast. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.