SC - Queen's Teas? Period terms?
lilinah at earthlink.net
lilinah at earthlink.net
Fri Feb 23 19:49:17 PST 2001
>How period is "luncheon"? Although I like the tern "Tea" in granting
>the modern mind's view of a light lunch with lots of gossip and
>elegance. "Brunch" implies a heartier but long-duration meal.
>"Luncheon" also implies light dining and conversation but not as
>elegant.
>
>Gunthar
Luncheon is a more formal word, with a longer history of use than
bruch, and to me implies something much more elegant. A luncheon, at
least earlier in the 20th century, was often a very eleborate affair.
It is the mid-day meal, whence "lunch" is derived, that is eaten
after breakfast any day of the week. One often had to dress almost
semi-formally to attend a luncheon. (my dictionary mentions that a
luncheon is "esp.a formal lunch held in connection with a club
meetig, convention, or other special occasion.") Also, a luncheon can
happen any day of the week.
It is a derivation or variation of the Middle English term
"nuncheon", which originally meant a noon drink.
Brunch is a more recent word - mid-20th c. i think - a combo of
BR-eakfast and l-UNCH, a neologism (well, at the time is was
invented), and a highly informal term. Brunches are eaten when one
skips breakfast because one sleeps late, so it is a meal eaten in
very late morning, around lunch time, and often consisting of
breakfast foods, like pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon, and
sometimes things like Eggs Benedict - and variations - along with
some more mid-day kinds of things. Because of this, brunch to me is a
weekend thing.
So while luncheon isn't period, it is at least derived from a period
word, while brunch is a recently invented informal term.
Anahita
sorry i don't have OED access at home, so if someone has citations
for use with dates....
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