See quotation 1851.
1851. ‘He did n’t know what they were nibbling at, and he did n’t know what ‘meetin’-seed’ was.’ ‘Why, la!’ said she, ‘some people call it ‘caraway’ and ‘anise seed,’ but we call it ‘meetin’-seed,’ ’cause we cal’late it keeps us awake in meetin’; so we ‘allers’ take it to eat while the min’ster is preachin’!’—Knick. Mag., xxxviii. 372 (Sept.).
1877. She munched a sprig of meetin’ seed, and read her spelling-book.—St. Nicholas, Jan. (Bartlett).
1891. [She was] choked with the dead odors of “meetin’-seed,” the musty chill of the past week, &c.—Rose T. Cooke, ‘Huckleberries,’ p. 330 (Boston).
