Nutrient and Nutriment

Question

I used to think that "nutriment" was a variant, possibly erroneous, of "nutrient". But unimpeachable sources were using it, and I checked NSOED to educate myself on the distinction between this pair. They have separate entries, neither of which mentions the other and both of which involve "food" and "nourishment" in phrases which I can't easily differentiate.
My guess is that they operate on slightly different levels: nutrients are the raw materials and nutriments are the finished goods. Is this correct?
Matti

Usenet · Accepted Answer

In our last episode,
,
the lovely and talented Matti Lamprhey
broadcast on alt.usage.english:
[nq:1]I used to think that "nutriment" was a variant, possibly erroneous, of "nutrient". But unimpeachable sources were using it, and ... they operate on slightly different levels: nutrients are the raw materials and nutriments are the finished goods. Is this correct?[/nq]
So far as I can tell, they are synonyms. Nutriment is the older word and is obviously a noun from its form. Nutrient apparently entered English as an adjective and coexisted peacefully with nutriment until the early Nineteenth century, when nutrient was nouned.

If all were going well, the mother would be the nutrient of the child and the nutriment would be milk, which is something like the distinction you seem to be driving at. But in fact (according to MWCD11) nutrient began life as noun meaning, as it does today, a substance or ingredient that provides nourishment, or in other words, so long as nutrient has been a noun, it has meant nearly (or exactly) the same thing as nutriment, and nutrient the 19th century noun does not bear the relationship to nutrient the adjective as most nouns derived of adjectives bear to their source.
I suspect science is to blame for nutrient being what it is today. At any rate, that is the source of many ill-considered coinages, especially in the 19th century. Otherwise we might call the roach coach a nutrient wagon and no one would think we were likely to eat it, wheels and all.

Lars Eighner ~~finger for geek code~~ (Email Removed) http://www.io.com/~eighner/ If your eyes hurt after you drink coffee, you have to take the spoon out of the cup. Norm Crosby

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I used to think that "nutriment" was a variant, possibly erroneous, of "nutrient". But unimpeachable sources were using it, and ... they operate on slightly different levels: nutrients are the raw materials and nutriments are the finished goods. Is this correct?[/nq]
After cruising some dictionaries, a thesaurus, and a dictionary of synonyms, I have the general impression that they tend to agree in principle with Matti's guess; a nutriment is an item of food; a nutrient is an ingredient of a nutriment.
For example, bread is a nutriment; starch and protein are nutrients. Irish stew is a nutriment; an amino acid is a nutrient.
But are the carrots in Irish stew nutriments or nutrients? I think they're nutriments, while the beta-carotene in a vegetable is a nutrient.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I used to think that "nutriment" was a variant, possibly erroneous, of "nutrient". But unimpeachable sources were using it, and ... they operate on slightly different levels: nutrients are the raw materials and nutriments are the finished goods. Is this correct?[/nq]
Not Chambers' finest moment (or maybe it's an attempt at lexicographic himour):
nutrient n any nourishing substance
nutriment n anything which nourishes
Adrian

Nutrient and Nutriment

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