Obs. exc. dial. (Also with hyphen.) [WHITE a. 2, MEAT sb. 2. Cf. MSw. hvitmater pl. (Sw. vitmat).] a. collect. sing. or pl. Foods prepared from milk; dairy produce (occas. including eggs).
c. 1425. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 661/11. Hoc lacticinium, wyttemet.
c. 1450. Mirk’s Festial, 84. Ȝe most fast from all maner flesch mete and whyl-mete.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 129/1. Without etyng fysshe ne mylke egges or whyte mete.
1538. Fitzwarren, in Lett. Suppr. Monast. (Camden), 216. Concernyng forbyddyng of whytmeates in Lente.
1577. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb., III. 148. The olde wryters doo teache the making of a kinde of white meate, not much vnlike to Welcurdes.
1584. Cogan, Haven Health, cxciii. 150. A thirde kinde of meats, which is neither fishe nor fleshe, commonly called white meates, as egges, milke, butter, cheese.
1617. Moryson, Itin., III. 148. The Cowes … with large vdders, yeelding plenty of whitmeates.
1620. Brent, trans. Sarpi’s Counc. Trent, I. 4. Giuing … power to eate egges and whitmeats on fasting dayes.
1796. Bp. G. Hay, in Ushaw Mag., Dec. (1913), 286. In those countries where people have nothing else to eat with their bread but whitemeats; these are more or less permitted in Lent itself: and in some places Eggs also.
1886. Elworthy, W. Som. Gloss.
b. pl. Certain white or light-colored flesh foods (see quot. 1877).
1752. Chesterf., Lett. (1774), II. 233. Pray leave off your … pastry, fat creams, and … dumplings; and then you need not confine yourself to white meats, which I do not take to be one jot wholesomer than beef, mutton, and partridge.
1877. N. W. Linc. Gloss., White meats, the flesh of lamb, veal, and rabbits,… chickens, pheasants, and partridges.
c. attrib.
1721. N. Blundell, Diary (1895), 175, April 25th. It being a White-Meat day I dined at a Table by myself at the Swan.
d. as adj. (fig.) Mean, pusillanimous.
a. 1611[?]. Beaum. & Fl., Four Plays (1647), 33/1. Sirha, sirha, this whitmeat-spirit’s not yours.
