Or rather the words breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Breakfast
That’s easy—it’s an English word that developed to connote the first bit of food taken after a person wakes up. They’ve been sleeping, and so not eating, which means any food is “breaking the fast” they’ve been engaged in.
Dinner
As late as the mid-20th century, dinner referred to the meal eaten in the middle of the day, not the one eaten at the end. Oddly enough, the word dinner comes from the 11th century Old French word disner, which meant “to eat breakfast.” As the word was absorbed into English as dinner, it came to refer to the “main” meal of the day, the timing of which changed over the centuries. Over time, the largest meal of the day moved later and later in the day, until it was the evening meal.
Lunch
As dinner became established as a meal eaten in the evening or at night, there came a need for a meal in the middle of the day…or for some kind of sustenance. Lunch is short for luncheon, a word dating to the 1650s that once meant “thick hunk,” as in a thick hunk of meat. At the same time, there was an English word nuncheon, which meant a midday meal. That word is a combination of “noon” and an obsolete word schench, which meant “to have a drink.”
Snack
While it might seem like the notion of having a small meal in between the other, bigger meals seems like a modern invention or the result of advances in marketing and food storage technology, the word “snack” dates all the way back to the 1300s. It’s from a Middle Dutch word, snacken, which means to snatch or to snap—like a jaw quickly scaring down some food. The first written use of snack as a noun dates to the late 18th century. A few decades later, and people in Europe and the Americas were using “snack” as a verb to refer to eating a little bit of something to get them through a few hours.
FAQs
The three meals per day concept originated with Englanders who achieved financial prosperity. European settlers brought their eating habits with them to America. Unfortunately, practicing antiquated, meal etiquette often causes you to consume calories when you're not hungry.
What is the origin of the word "lunch"? ›
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'.
What is the origin of the word dinner? ›
Dinner derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb disner, meaning “to dine.” The comparable etymon for supper is the Anglo-French super, meaning “to sup,” related to supe, the noun for “soup.” The typical meal prepared for supper was something of a light repast akin to soup—perhaps something that could be ...
What is the origin of breakfast foods? ›
In ancient Egypt, it was common for people to eat a breakfast of bread and beer, while in ancient Greece, breakfast was a light meal consisting of bread dipped in wine or water. In ancient Rome, breakfast was typically a simple meal of bread and cheese, or occasionally leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
Was lunch originally called dinner? ›
Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, it gradually migrated to later in the day over the 16th to 19th centuries. The word has different meanings depending on culture, and may mean a meal of any size eaten at any time of day.
Why was 3 meals a day invented? ›
During the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, however, with its normalization of working hours, the habit of having both breakfast and lunch developed – as a pre-working meal plus a break at half-day, leading to current habit of three daily meals.
When did breakfast, lunch, and dinner become a thing? ›
It was in the 17th Century that the working lunch started, where men with aspirations would network. The middle and lower classes eating patterns were also defined by their working hours. By the late 18th Century most people were eating three meals a day in towns and cities, says Day.
What is the meal between breakfast and lunch called? ›
Brunch is a meal, sometimes accompanied by alcoholic drinks (typically champagne or a co*cktail), taken sometime in the late morning or early afternoon – the universally accepted time is 10am-1pm. The meal originated in the British hunt breakfast. The word brunch is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.
Why do Americans call lunch dinner? ›
It's a holdover from when the day's largest meal was eaten either in the late morning or early afternoon. Correctly speaking, the largest meal of the day is “dinner” no matter what time you eat it.
What is the meal between lunch and dinner called? ›
brunch) - a small meal between lunch and dinner in the late afternoon or early evening (about 3- 5 pm.). This is a more appropriate word for an intermediate meal than the once suggested "linner." Dunch is a lighter meal, more similar to lunch than to dinner.
Most people are brought up thinking that dinner should be the biggest meal of the day, meaning they opt for a light breakfast and lunch. However, research has found that a smaller dinner and larger lunch could be the key to helping you shift those weight.
What is the meal before dinner called? ›
An appetizer is meant to complement an entrée and is generally a small-portioned first course of a multi-course meal. Appetizers are meant to whet the appetite before the following courses. Appetizers connote that a dinner will follow.
What is the oldest breakfast? ›
Also known as Johnnycakes, griddle cakes or hotcakes, this batter-made breakfast item dates back more than 30,000 years.
What was the old name for breakfast? ›
Ancient Rome
Romans called breakfast ientaculum.
What was the original word for breakfast? ›
Etymology. From Middle English brekefast, brekefaste, equivalent to break + fast (literally, "to end the nightly fast"), likely a variant of Old English fæstenbryċe, (literally, "fast-breach").
What is the origin of meal times? ›
The beginning of regular meal time was still debated, but it is generally believed between 17th and 5th century BCE. The two meals are roughly equivalent to breakfast and lunch, but they are eaten much later: around 9am and 4pm.
Why do southerners call lunch dinner? ›
And on NPR, food historian Helen Zoe Veit points out that in the past, especially in farming communities, the noon meal was the biggest one of the day. Which would explain why, in certain parts of the south, the word 'dinner' has persisted as a reference to the noon, rather than evening, meal.
What cultures eat two meals a day? ›
“Nicoyans often eat two breakfasts with a light dinner; Ikarians and Sardinians make lunch the big meal of the day,” reads a post on the Blue Zones website. “Many Adventists who follow the 'breakfast like a king' rule eat only two meals a day, one midmorning and another around 4 p.m.”
Did our ancestors eat one meal a day? ›
Looking back through history, breakfast was not a common meal for most people. Our ancestors typically ate one substantial meal each day, supplemented with nuts and fruits as snacks. Eating when hungry was an intuitive approach to mealtime.
