Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MEAL, n.² [Sax. mealewe, melewe; G. mehl; Sw. miöl; Dan. and D. meel; G. mehlicht, mealy, mellow; W. mâl, bruised, ground, smooth. This word seems to be allied to mill, L. mola, and to L. mollis, Eng. mellow. The radical sense is probably to break, comminute, or grind to fine particles, and hence the sense of softness; or the sense of softness may be from yielding or smoothness, and the verb may be from the noun.]

1. The substance of edible grain ground to fine particles, and not bolted or sifted. Meal primarily, includes the bran as well as the flour. Since bolting has been generally practiced, the word meal is not generally applied to the finer part, or flour, at least in the United States, though I believe it is sometimes so used. In New England, meal is now usually applied to ground maiz, whether bolted or unbolted, called Indian meal or corn-meal. The words wheat-meal and rye-meal are rarely used, though not wholly extinct; and meal occurs also in oatmeal.
2. Flour; the finer part of pulverized grain. [This sense is now uncommon.]