Part of the Meals series

Common meals...

Breakfast

Second breakfast

Elevenses

Brunch

Tiffin

Lunch

Tea

Dinner

Supper

Dessert

Snack

See also...

Cuisine • Kitchen Buffet • Banquet Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For the coarsely ground flour, see flour. ... Breakfast is the first meal of the day, typically eaten in the morning. ... Second breakfast is a meal eaten after breakfast, but before lunch. ... In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, elevenses is a snack that is similar to afternoon tea, but eaten in the morning. ... Brunch is a late morning meal between the typical time for breakfast and lunch, as a replacement for both meals, usually eaten when one rises too late to eat breakfast, or as a specially-planned meal. ... For other uses, see Tiffin (disambiguation). ... This article is about tea, the meal. ... An amount of formality may be present at a dinner Dinner is the main meal of the day, eaten at noon or in the evening. ... Supper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day, usually the meal that comes after dinner. ... Not to be confused with Desert. ... A snack food (commonly shortened to snack) is seen in Western culture as a type of food not meant to be eaten as a main meal of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) but one that is intended rather to assuage a persons hunger between these meals, providing a brief... Cuisine (from French cuisine, cooking; culinary art; kitchen; ultimately from Latin coquere, to cook) is a specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a specific culture. ... A kitchen is a room used for food preparation and sometimes entertainment. ... A Chinese buffet restaurant in the U.S. A buffet (buh-FAY or /bÉ™.ˈfei/) is a meal-serving system where patrons serve themselves. ... State Banquet. ...

Lunch is an abbreviation of luncheon, meaning a midday meal.^[1] In English-speaking countries during the eighteenth century what was originally called "dinner"— a word still sometimes used to mean a noontime meal in the UK, and in parts of the United States and Canada — was moved by stages later in the day and came in the course of the nineteenth century to be eaten at night, replacing the light meal called supper, which was delayed by the upper class to midnight. For the coarsely ground flour, see flour. ... An amount of formality may be present at a dinner Dinner is the main meal of the day, eaten at noon or in the evening. ... Supper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day, usually the meal that comes after dinner. ...

The mid-day meal on Sunday and the festival meals on Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving (in the U.S. and Canada) are still often eaten at the old hours, usually either at noon or between two and four in the afternoon, and called dinner. Traditional farming communities also may still commonly have the largest meal of the day at mid-day and refer to this meal as "dinner." For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Christian festival. ... For other uses, see Thanksgiving (disambiguation). ...

Origin of the term

The abbreviation lunch, in use from 1823,^[1] is taken from the more formal "luncheon,"^[2] which the OED reports from 1580, as a word for a meal that was inserted between more substantial meals. OED stands for Oxford English Dictionary Office of Enrollment & Discipline This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

In medieval England, there are references to nuncheon, a non hench according to 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. In London, by the 1730s and 40s, the upper class were rising later and dining at three or four in the afternoon, and by 1770 their dinner hour in London was four or five.^[3] A formal evening meal, artificially lit by candles, sometimes with entertainment, was a "supper party" as late as Regency times. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

In the 19th century, male artisans went home for a brief dinner, where their wives fed them, but as the workplace was removed farther from the home, working men took to providing themselves with something portable to eat at a break in the schedule during the middle of the day. In parts of India a light, portable lunch is known as tiffin. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... An artisan is a skilled manual worker. ... For other uses, see Tiffin (disambiguation). ...

Ladies whose husbands would eat at the club would be free to leave the house and have lunch with one another, though not in restaurants until the twentieth century. In the 1945 edition of Etiquette, Emily Post still referred to luncheon as "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.^[3] Afternoon tea supplemented this luncheon at four o'clock, from the 1840s.^[3] Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management had much less to explain about luncheon than about dinners or ball suppers: Emily Post (27 October 1873-- 25 September 1960) was a United States author who promoted proper etiquette. ... Ladies who lunch is a phrase to describe well-off women who meet for lunch socially, normally during the working week. ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. ... Tea (a meal, as opposed to the beverage), has different meanings according to country. ... Mrs Beeton aged about 26 title page of The Englishwomans Domestic Magazine, September 1861 Isabella Mary Beeton (née Mayson; 12 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), universally known as Mrs Beeton, was the principal author of Mrs Beetons Book of Household Management and is the most famous cookery...

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, or any dish of that kind. 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. —Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management

Published in 1861, Mrs Beetons Book of Household Management was a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain. ...

Practices

Lunch food varies. In some places, one eats similar things both at lunch and at supper - a hot meal, sometimes with more than one course. In other places, lunch is the main meal of the day, supper being a smaller cold meal.

Many people eat lunch while at work or school. Employers and schools usually provide a lunch break in the middle of the day, lasting as much as an hour. Some workplaces and schools provide cafeterias, often called canteens, where one can get a hot meal (in British schools female staff who serve lunch are often known as "dinner ladies" (or in Northern England as 'Dinner Nannies'), but never "lunch ladies"). In some work locations one can easily go out to eat at a nearby restaurant. Where these conveniences are not available it may be impractical to make lunch the main meal of the day. In these cases relatively simple foods might be packed in a container, such as a bag or a lunchbox, and taken to work or school. Many worksites are visited regularly by catering trucks, which provide lunch. This article is about work. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ... One of a number of cafeterias at Electronic City campus, Infosys Technologies Ltd. ... Lunch lady is an American slang term for a woman who serves lunch in a school cafeteria. ... For other uses, see Restaurant (disambiguation). ... Categories: Stub ... Mobile catering is the business of selling prepared food from some sort of vehicle. ...

Brown bag lunch of a chicken salad sandwich, a pear, carrot sticks, and milk.

The quintessential bag lunch (also, brown bag from the brown paper sack used to carry it) in North America of the past has consisted of a sandwich and often a whole fruit and either cookies or a candy bar. But now, the near-universal spread of the microwave oven to the workplace since the 1980s has changed the nature of workers' lunches considerably. Leftovers from home-cooked meals, frozen foods, and a huge variety of prepared foods needing only reheating are now more common than the sandwich lunch. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixels Full resolution (2700 × 1800 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixels Full resolution (2700 × 1800 pixel, file size: 2. ... More-or-less a filling for other salads or as a sandwich filling, chicken salad is an adequate way to use-up leftover chicken. ... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... This article is about the food item. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... This article is about the food. ... A Twix bar, broken in half Candy bar is the most popular term in the U.S. for confectionery usually packaged in a bar or log form, often coated with chocolate, and sized as a snack for one person. ... Microwave oven A microwave oven, or microwave, is a kitchen appliance employing microwave radiation primarily to cook or heat food. ... Frozen food is food preserved by the process of freezing. ...

A similar tradition exists in Britain, where schoolchildren and workers bring in a prepared lunch in a lunchbox in the style of the American bag lunch. This will usually contain, at the least, a sandwich, a bag of crisps and a drink. However, this is now changing in the workplace due to the ubiquity of small cafes in cities as well as the microwave. However, it remains common among builders where such facilities do not exist on-site. Categories: Stub ... This article is about the food item. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Potato chips. ...

On weekends in the United States it is popular to combine a late breakfast with lunch, called a "brunch". Brunches often feature more elaborate fare than ordinary breakfasts, and may include desserts and alcoholic beverages, such as mimosas, which are not ordinarily served with breakfast. Brunch is a late morning meal between the typical time for breakfast and lunch, as a replacement for both meals, usually eaten when one rises too late to eat breakfast, or as a specially-planned meal. ... A Mimosa is a cocktail-like drink composed of three parts champagne and two parts thoroughly chilled orange juice, traditionally served in a tall champagne flute with a morning brunch. ...

Purpose

In addition to its primary purpose, lunch can function as a form of entertainment, especially on weekends; a particularly fancy or formal lunch can be called a luncheon. Such lunches can be served at a restaurant, as a buffet or potluck, or as a sit-down feast. These events are very similar to festive suppers. Lunch, both simple and fancy, often includes dessert. A stilt-walker entertaining shoppers at a shopping centre in Swindon, England Entertainment is an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (although, for example, in the case of a computer game the audience may be only one person). ... A Chinese buffet restaurant in the U.S. A buffet (buh-FAY or /bə.ˈfei/) is a meal-serving system where patrons serve themselves. ... An assortment of food dishes at a church potluck. ... Not to be confused with Desert. ...

Many nutritionists suggest that it is more appropriate to eat a large meal at lunch than it is to do so at supper, just before going to sleep, when the energy from the meal will not be properly used. An example of this style of meal can be found in the German, Brazilian and Scandinavian diet, whose lunch mostly is large and cooked (as opposed to, say, a sandwich). The Nutrition Facts table indicates the amounts of nutrients which experts recommend you limit or consume in adequate amounts. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ...

In a full cricket match that lasts more than one day, there is a luncheon interval in each day's play, usually taken between 12:30pm and 1:30pm. In one-day matches the break is taken between innings. This article is about the sport. ...

In other languages

Two street vendors taking time out for lunch at a makeshift table of wooden crates covered with newspaper. New York, August 1946.

In French the midday meal is called déjeuner and is the main meal of the day, taken between noon and 2 p.m. The lighter evening meal, taken around 8 p.m., is called souper. Download high resolution version (1456x1053, 295 KB)Two street vendors taking time out for lunch at a makeshift table of wooden crates covered with newspaper. ... Download high resolution version (1456x1053, 295 KB)Two street vendors taking time out for lunch at a makeshift table of wooden crates covered with newspaper. ...

In Quebecois French lunch is known as dîner. The Anglicism lunch means an invitational light meal usually eaten while standing and not necessarily around noon. It is offered for example in vernissages; Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... An anglicism, as most often defined, is a word borrowed from English into another language. ... A vernissage (varnishing, from French), also known as a preview or private view, is the ceremonial start of an art exhibition. ...

In Catalan language it is dinar . Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian island of Sardinia. ...

In Chinese it is usually called tin fan (in Mandarin pinyin wǔ cān) 午餐 (literally, 'midday meal'). Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ...

In Arabic it is ghada. Normally it is eaten between 2 and 4 p.m. Arabic redirects here. ...

In Bengali it is called "madhyanho bhojon" or "Ahaar" Bangla redirects here. ...

In Croatian it is called "ručak."

In Czech it is called "oběd"

In Danish it is frokost (or middagsmad).

In Dhivehi it is called "Mendhuru Keun"" Dhivehi or Divehi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 300,000 people in the Republic of Maldives where it is the official language of the country and in the island of Minicoy (Maliku) in neighbouring India where it is known as Mahl. ...

In Dutch it is "middagmaal" or middageten. The Anglicism lunch is also used.

In Esperanto it is tagmanĝo (or lunĉo). This article is about the language. ...

In Estonian it is "lõuna" or "lõunasöök".

In Filipino it is tanghalian.

In Finnish it is lounas.

In German the main middle of the day meal is Mittagessen (mid-day food)

In Greek it is γεύμα (pronounced yevma).

In Gujarati it is called "bapor nu khavanu". Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ...

In Hungarian it is ebéd.

In Hebrew it is "Tzhoraim" or "Aruchat Tzhoraim" literally meaning noon or noon meal Hebrew redirects here. ...

In Hindi it is called "madhyan bhojan" or "Ahaar" The article describes the languages spoken in the Republic of India. ...

In Icelandic it is hádegismatur or hádegisverður.

In Indonesian it is makan siang

In Interlingua it is prandio. This article is about the auxiliary language created by the International Auxiliary Language Association. ...

In Italian it is pranzo.

In Japanese it is 昼ご飯 ("Hirugohan"), or 昼食 (kyuushoku).

In Korean it is "Jum Shim ("점심").

In Kurdish it is Firaveen. The Kurdish language (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is the language spoken by Kurds. ...

In Latvian it is pusdienas ("middays").

In Lithuanian it is pietūs and is the main meal of the day. The word lunch is translated as priešpiečiai (meaning pre-dinner) and would be brunch.

In Malayalam it is called "Ucha Oonu" or "Aahaaram". Malayalam ( ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ...

In Malay it is called "Makanan Tengahari" Motto Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu Unity Is Strength1 Anthem Negaraku Capital (and largest city) Kuala Lumpur3 Official languages Malay2 Demonym Malaysian Government Federal constitutional monarchy  -  Yang di-Pertuan Agong Mizan Zainal Abidin  -  Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Independence  -  from the United Kingdom (Malaya only) August 31, 1957   -  Federation (with Sabah...

In Norwegian it is lunsj or formiddagsmat (meaning pre-dinner meal).

In Polish it is obiad.

In Portuguese it is almoço.

In Persian it is naahaar. Farsi redirects here. ...

In Romanian it is Prânz

In Russian it is Обед

In Serbian it is ručak Serbian (; ) is one of the standard versions of the Shtokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and by Serbs in the Serbian diaspora. ...

In Slovak it is obed

In Slovenian it is kosilo

In Spanish it is almuerzo (or comida, which also means "food").

In Swahili it is chakula cha adhuhuri.

In Swedish it is lunch.

In Tagalog it is tanghalian. Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ...

In Tamil it is Madhya Unavu (or "Madhya sappadu"). Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ...

In Turkish it is öğle yemeği (midday meal).

In Urdu it is Dopeher kaa khaanaa, means meal at noon. The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, and Sanskrit influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ...

In Vietnamese it is ǎn trưa.

In Welsh it is tocyn but this also means snack. "Cinio" can also be used to describe lunch, however "cinio" can also be used to describe the evening meal alongside with swper. Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ...

See also

• Bento
• Ladies who lunch
• Nutrition
• LUNCH Ensemble