On the Shelf – 8/20

An Etymology of Meals

As I was contemplating what to eat throughout today, I also got to thinking about certain words. (That happens a lot for me, as loyal readers of this column will know.) Specifically, the words that I was contemplating all had to do with the various meals (and other times) that we eat.

However, before we get to the meals, themselves, we need to begin with the act of not eating, i.e, fasting. The word “fast” (as a noun) comes to us from the late Old English fæsten, meaning “voluntary abstinence from food and drink”, especially, but not necessarily, as a religious duty. That older word, itself, is derived either from the Old English verb, fæsten, or the Old Norse fasta, meaning “a fast, fasting, season of fasting”. In earlier Old English, fæsten means “fortress, cloister, enclosure, prison”. Thus, for us, today, a fast is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. It might or might not have a religious purpose in a person’s life. It might also be done as preparation for a medical procedure, to improve one’s mental health, to aid in weight loss, etc. For our purposes here, we note that all of us “fast” on a fairly daily basis by not eating overnight.

Which brings us to breakfast. Aha, I see that you are ahead of me: yes, it is with this meal that we break our fast of a night spent not eating. Over time, the word has come to be understood as the “first meal of the day”, as we have more and more lost the concept of the nightly fast. However, it is an interesting word: a noun being formed by combining a verb (“break”) and a noun (“fast”). Even though the word has traditionally indicated a morning meal, I know that a lot of us will sometimes enjoy “breakfast for dinner” — really referring to the type of food that is normally eaten during that morning meal.

But, there is another meal that is usually consumed in the morning: brunch. (Or, as some late sleepers call it, “the first meal of the day”.) The word itself appears to be an 1896 British student slang merger of “breakfast” and “lunch”. (However, as noted in the August 1, 1896, issue of Punch, “The combination-meal, when nearer the usual breakfast hour, is ‘brunch,’ and when nearer luncheon, is ‘blunch.’”) Wikipedia notes that in the United States, brunch is seen as an especially indulgent meal, composed of rich dishes, as well as juice-based cocktails.

And, that brings us to lunch. The word is a shortening of “luncheon”, which perhaps evolved from “lump” (according to the Oxford English Dictionary). It is the meal that is normally consumed around midday, tucked in between breakfast and dinner. It can vary in form, size, composition, and significance across cultures and historical periods. In some societies, lunch constitutes the main meal of the day (possibly followed by the always welcome siesta) and may consist of multiple courses. In others, it is lighter and more utilitarian in nature. (To understand these variations, one can note the differences between school lunches in, say, Finland and the United States.)

Now we come to the meal that seems to create the greatest controversy: is it dinner or is it supper? Originally (around 1300 CE) “dinner” meant the “first big meal of the day”, and indicated a meal eaten between 9:00 AM and noon — taken from the Old French disner, meaning “breakfast”. Over time, the meal kept getting pushed later in the day. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it referred to a meal eaten about midday. From there it moved to 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, then to 4:00 or 5:00. Now, the custom of eating dinner at 6:00 or later has become common. In many Western cultures, dinner is the biggest and most formal meal of the day.

Then there is “supper”. The word, itself, derives from the Old French soper, meaning “evening repast, the last meal of the day”. It was originally a secondary lighter evening meal, following the main meal of the day, called dinner. When dinner was still at its earlier time, eating a lighter supper in the evening was very common. Now, with dinner (at least for us United States folk) being eaten as the evening meal, supper has, for the most part, become superfluous. Of course, some of us just choose which name we prefer for our evening meal.

Ah, but let us not forget the ever-popular snack. The word derives from an about 1300 CE verb, snak, indicating “to bite or snap”, as of a dog. The noun variation appears around 1400 CE, again as snak, meaning “a snatch or snap” (especially that of a dog). Today we think of this as a small portion of food eaten between meals, and usually consisting of foods that don’t require a lot of preparation. And, it is always good to remember: a midnight snack serves to shorten your time of fasting (see above).