lunch
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
Etymology: Recorded since 1580 in the sense “piece, hunk”. The word luncheon with the same meaning is presumably an extension on the pattern of puncheon (“cask”) and truncheon (“cudgel”). But earliest found forms of luncheon include lunshin and lunching, which are equivalent to lunch + -ing, with the suffix -ing possibly later modified to imitate a French origin.
In contrast, the more common sense “light meal” is first attested for luncheon in 1652 and for lunch in 1829, so in this sense the latter is probably a shortening of the former.
Lunch is possibly a derivative of lump (as hunch is from hump. See hunch for more), or represents an alteration of nuncheon, from Middle English nonechenche (“light midday meal”) (see nuncheon) and altered by northern English dialect lunch (“hunk of bread or cheese”) (1590), which perhaps is from lump or from Spanish lonja (“a slice”, literally “loin”).
Affixes: -ing
Inflected forms:
form: lunches
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: lunches
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: lunching
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: lunched
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: lunched
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: We made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner.
gloss: A break in play between the first and second sessions.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Any small meal, especially one eaten at a social gathering.
pos: noun
tags: US
countable
uncountable
examples: After the funeral there was a lunch for those who didn't go to the cemetery.
“Oh, you mustn’t dream of going home without your tea,” cried Anne in distress. “I’ll get it right off—I’ll go and put the tea down this very minute.” “I must go home,” repeated Diana, stupidly but determinedly. “Let me get you a lunch anyhow,” implored Anne. “Let me give you a bit of fruit-cake and some of the cherry preserves. […]”
gloss: A thin piece or hunk (of bread, meat, etc.)
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
gloss: To eat lunch.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: I like to lunch in Italian restaurants.
The gentleman had left for London after lunch. Yes, alone; but he had lunched in the hotel with a lady.
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today.
gloss: To treat to lunch.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: We dined him, we lunched him, we were photographed in his company by flashlight.
Related words: luncheonette
breakfast
dine
dinner
supper
Derived words: bag lunch
blunch
box lunch
brunch
business lunch
businessman's lunch
cut lunch
dairy lunch
do lunch
dry lunch
dunch
Dutch lunch
eat someone's lunch
free lunch
funch
launch lunch
launch one's lunch
linner
liquid lunch
little lunch
lose one's lunch
Lunchable
lunchable
lunch-and-learn
lunch box
lunch break
lunchbreak
lunch bucket
lunch counter
lunchee
luncheteria
lunchette
lunch hook
lunch hour
lunch kettle
lunch lady
lunchless
lunchline
lunchmaking
lunchmate
lunch meat
lunch money
lunch pail
lunch pail Democrat
lunch shaming
lunchtime
lunch-time
lunch trailer
lunch truck
lunchwards
lunchware
lunner
lupper
no free lunch
no free lunch theorem
out to lunch
pack a lunch
packed lunch
pack lunch
plate lunch
playlunch
ploughman's lunch
plowman's lunch
postlunch
power lunch
prelunch
sack lunch
split lunch
there ain't no such thing as a free lunch
there is no free lunch
there is no such thing as a free lunch
there's no such thing as a free lunch
three-martini lunch
walk after lunch
working lunch
lady who lunches
luncher
lunch in
lunch out
lunchroom
Translations: