"pertaining to dinner" or other meal, 1820, from Latin prandium "late breakfast, luncheon," from *pram "early" (from PIE *pre-, variant of root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before, first") + edere "to eat" (from PIE root *ed- "to eat") + -al (1). OED reports it as "affected or jocose." Compare postprandial.
1832, "to go around in a prying manner," American English, probably from Dutch snoepen "to pry," also "eat in secret, eat sweets, sneak," probably related to snappen "to bite, snatch" (see snap (v.)). Specific meaning "to pry into other people's business" is attested from 1921. Related: Snooped; snooping.
"dirt-eating," 1820, from Greek *geophagia (according to OED the actual Greek is geotragia), from geo-, combining form of gē "earth" (see Gaia) + phagein "to eat." See also pica (n.2).
A diseased appetite ... prevails in several parts of Alabama, where they eat clay. I heard various speculations on the origin of this singular propensity, called 'geophagy' in some medical books. [Lyell, "Second Visit to U.S.," 1850]
insect excrement, 1854, from German frasz, from root of fressen "to devour, to eat as a beast does" (see fret (v.)).
"exceedingly fat," 1650s, back-formation from obesity and in part from Latin obesus "fat, stout, plump," literally "that has eaten itself fat," past participle of obedere "to eat all over, devour," from ob "about; because of" (see ob-) + edere "eat" (from PIE root *ed- "to eat"). According to OED, "Rare before 19th c." Related: Obeseness. Latin obesus was translated in Old English as oferfæt "overfat." As Latin obesus also could be read as "eaten up," it also was used in a passive sense, "wasted away, lean."
"remains of food left from a meal, a table scrap," mid-15c. (from c. 1300 in Anglo-Latin), originally of animal food, but not common until late 16c.; probably cognate with early Dutch ooraete, Low German ort, from or-, privative prefix, + etan "to eat" (from PIE root *ed- "to eat"). Perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word.
also post-prandial, 1820 (Coleridge), "happening, said, done, etc. after dinner," from post- "after" + Latin prandium "luncheon" (usually bread, fish, or cold meat, taken around noon), from *pram "early" (from PIE *pre-, variant of root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before, first") + edere "to eat" (from PIE root *ed- "to eat") + -al (1). "Chiefly humorous" [OED].
