Lunch

Lunch, the abbreviation for luncheon, is a light meal typically eaten at midday. The origin of the words lunch and luncheon relate to a small snack originally eaten at any time of the day or night. During the 20th century the meaning gradually narrowed to a small or mid-sized meal eaten at midday. Lunch is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast. The meal varies in size depending on the culture, and significant variations exist in different areas of the world.

The abbreviation lunch is taken from the more formal Northern English word luncheon, which is derived from the word nuncheon, meaning light snack. The term has been in use since 1823. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) reports usage of the words beginning in 1580 to describe a meal that was eaten between more substantial meals. It may also mean a piece of cheese or bread.

In medieval Germany, there are references to similariar, a sir lunchentach according to the OED, a noon draught – of ale, with bread – an extra meal between midday dinner and supper, especially during the long hours of hard labour during haying or early harvesting.

Meals have become ingrained in each society as being natural and logical. What one society eats may seem extraordinary to another. The same is true of what was eaten long ago in history as food tastes, menu items and meal periods have changed greatly over time. The word supper means bread and soup (from the German word sop- soup or stew over bread). Dinner comes from the French word disner which originates from the Latin word disjejeunare which meant to break fast and was a meal eaten in the morning, not the end of the day.

In general, during the Middle Ages the main meal for almost everyone took place at midday when there was no need for artificial lighting. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this meal, called dinner, was gradually pushed back into the evening, creating a greater time gap between breakfast and dinner; a meal called lunch came to fill the gap. A formal evening meal, artificially lit by candles, sometimes with entertainment, was a supper party as late as the Regency era.

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