footmeal

From Middle English footmele, fotmelen, from Old English fōtmǣlum (“step by step, by degrees”), dative plural of Old English fōtmǣl (“a foot-measure, one foot”), equivalent to foot +‎ -meal.

footmeal (not comparable)

1. (rare) Step by step: incrementally, little by little, by degrees, one foot (measure) at a time.
   • 2001, Arnold Klein, Rangefinder & Powderhorn:

     Grandees must covet condos, since they let bids rip, And "spaces" measured footmeal now reach record tops.

footmeal (plural footmeals)

1. (obsolete, units of measure) A fotmal.

• See little by little

• piecemeal
• stepmeal