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Lunch
Lunch is a meal typically consumed around the middle of the day, following breakfast and preceding dinner. It varies in form, size, and significance across cultures and historical periods. In some societies, lunch constitutes the main meal of the day and may consist of multiple courses, while in others it is lighter and more utilitarian in nature. The foods consumed at lunch differ widely according to local dietary customs, ranging from simple items such as sandwiches or salads to more elaborate meals involving rice, noodles, or soups. Regional and cultural practices continue to shape lunch traditions, which are further influenced by factors such as religion, geography, and economic context.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the etymology of lunch is uncertain. It may have evolved from lump in a similar way to hunch, a derivative of hump, and bunch, a derivative of bump. Alternatively, it may have evolved from the Spanish lonja, meaning 'slice of ham'. It was first recorded in 1591 with the meaning 'thick piece, hunk' as in "lunch of bacon". The modern definition was first recorded in 1829.
The word luncheon (/ˈlʌntʃən/) has a similarly uncertain origin according to the OED, being "related in some way" to lunch. It is possible luncheon is an extension of lunch, as with punch to puncheon and trunch to truncheon. Originally interchangeable with lunch, it is now used in especially formal circumstances. The Oxford Companion to Food claims that luncheon is a Northern England English word which is derived from the Old English word nuncheon or nunchin meaning 'noon drink'. The OED records the words "nuncheon" and "nunchion" with the meaning "drink" or "snack" in various forms since the Middle English period.
Tastes in food, menu items, and meal periods have changed dramatically over time. During the Middle Ages, the main meal of the day, then called dinner, for almost everyone, took place late in the morning after several hours of work, when there was no need for artificial lighting. In the early to mid-17th century, the meal could be any time between late morning and mid-afternoon.
In England, during the late 17th and 18th centuries, this meal was gradually pushed back into the evening, creating a greater time gap between breakfast and dinner. A meal called lunch came to fill this gap. The late evening meal, called supper, became squeezed out as dinner advanced into the evening, and often turned into a snack. Formal "supper parties", artificially lit by candles, sometimes with entertainment, persisted as late as the Regency era, and a ball normally included supper, often served very late.
Until the early 19th century, luncheon was generally reserved for the ladies, who would often have lunch with one another when their husbands were out. The meal was relatively light, and typically included left-overs from the previous night's dinner, which were often plentiful. As late as 1945, Emily Post wrote in the magazine Etiquette that luncheon is "generally given by and for women, but it is not unusual, especially in summer places or in town on Saturday or Sunday, to include an equal number of men" – hence the mildly disparaging phrase, "the ladies who lunch". Lunch was a ladies' light meal; when the Prince of Wales stopped to eat a dainty luncheon with lady friends, he was laughed at for this effeminacy.
Beginning in the 1840s, afternoon tea supplemented this luncheon at four o'clock. Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861) – a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton – had much less to explain about luncheon than about dinners or ball suppers:
The remains of cold joints, nicely garnished, a few sweets, or a little hashed meat, poultry, or game, are the usual articles placed on the table for luncheon, with bread and cheese, biscuits, butter, etc. If a substantial meal is desired, rump-steaks or mutton chops may be served, as also veal cutlets, kidneys... In families where there is a nursery, the mistress of the house often partakes of the meal with the children and makes it her luncheon. In the summer, a few dishes of fresh fruit should be added to the luncheon, or, instead of this, a compote of fruit or fruit tart or pudding.
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Lunch AI simulator
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Lunch
Lunch is a meal typically consumed around the middle of the day, following breakfast and preceding dinner. It varies in form, size, and significance across cultures and historical periods. In some societies, lunch constitutes the main meal of the day and may consist of multiple courses, while in others it is lighter and more utilitarian in nature. The foods consumed at lunch differ widely according to local dietary customs, ranging from simple items such as sandwiches or salads to more elaborate meals involving rice, noodles, or soups. Regional and cultural practices continue to shape lunch traditions, which are further influenced by factors such as religion, geography, and economic context.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the etymology of lunch is uncertain. It may have evolved from lump in a similar way to hunch, a derivative of hump, and bunch, a derivative of bump. Alternatively, it may have evolved from the Spanish lonja, meaning 'slice of ham'. It was first recorded in 1591 with the meaning 'thick piece, hunk' as in "lunch of bacon". The modern definition was first recorded in 1829.
The word luncheon (/ˈlʌntʃən/) has a similarly uncertain origin according to the OED, being "related in some way" to lunch. It is possible luncheon is an extension of lunch, as with punch to puncheon and trunch to truncheon. Originally interchangeable with lunch, it is now used in especially formal circumstances. The Oxford Companion to Food claims that luncheon is a Northern England English word which is derived from the Old English word nuncheon or nunchin meaning 'noon drink'. The OED records the words "nuncheon" and "nunchion" with the meaning "drink" or "snack" in various forms since the Middle English period.
Tastes in food, menu items, and meal periods have changed dramatically over time. During the Middle Ages, the main meal of the day, then called dinner, for almost everyone, took place late in the morning after several hours of work, when there was no need for artificial lighting. In the early to mid-17th century, the meal could be any time between late morning and mid-afternoon.
In England, during the late 17th and 18th centuries, this meal was gradually pushed back into the evening, creating a greater time gap between breakfast and dinner. A meal called lunch came to fill this gap. The late evening meal, called supper, became squeezed out as dinner advanced into the evening, and often turned into a snack. Formal "supper parties", artificially lit by candles, sometimes with entertainment, persisted as late as the Regency era, and a ball normally included supper, often served very late.
Until the early 19th century, luncheon was generally reserved for the ladies, who would often have lunch with one another when their husbands were out. The meal was relatively light, and typically included left-overs from the previous night's dinner, which were often plentiful. As late as 1945, Emily Post wrote in the magazine Etiquette that luncheon is "generally given by and for women, but it is not unusual, especially in summer places or in town on Saturday or Sunday, to include an equal number of men" – hence the mildly disparaging phrase, "the ladies who lunch". Lunch was a ladies' light meal; when the Prince of Wales stopped to eat a dainty luncheon with lady friends, he was laughed at for this effeminacy.
Beginning in the 1840s, afternoon tea supplemented this luncheon at four o'clock. Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861) – a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton – had much less to explain about luncheon than about dinners or ball suppers:
The remains of cold joints, nicely garnished, a few sweets, or a little hashed meat, poultry, or game, are the usual articles placed on the table for luncheon, with bread and cheese, biscuits, butter, etc. If a substantial meal is desired, rump-steaks or mutton chops may be served, as also veal cutlets, kidneys... In families where there is a nursery, the mistress of the house often partakes of the meal with the children and makes it her luncheon. In the summer, a few dishes of fresh fruit should be added to the luncheon, or, instead of this, a compote of fruit or fruit tart or pudding.