【Food】 ,  【aliment】 ,  【pabulum】 ,  【nutriment】 ,  【nourishment】 ,  【sustenance】 ,  【pap】  are comparable especially when they denote material which feeds and supports the mind or the spirit.

【Food】 is applicable to whatever is taken in and assimilated to enlarge the mind or spirit or to contribute to its vitality and growth.

【Aliment】  and  【pabulum】  are not always distinguishable from each other, but  【aliment】 is more often applied to what nourishes or builds one’s mind and nature and  【pabulum】 to something, and often something overrefined, bland, or worthless, which serves as an article or sometimes as the substance of one’s mental diet.

【Nutriment】  and  【nourishment】 are both applied to what is needed for healthy growth (as of the body, the mind, or an institution), but  【nourishment】  in addition suggests, as  【nutriment】 does not, the nourishing effect produced.

【Sustenance】 stresses the supporting and maintaining rather than the upbuilding aspect of 【nutriment】 .

【Pap】 is found chiefly in contemptuous or ironical use and applies in its extended sense to 【nourishment】 that is as slight, as diluted, and as innocuous as soft bland 【food】 for an infant or invalid.