Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

junket

 - 3 dictionary results

jun⋅ket

  [juhng-kit]
Use junket in a Sentence
–noun
1. a sweet, custardlike food of flavored milk curdled with rennet.
2. a pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.
3. a trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information.
–verb (used without object)
4. to go on a junket.
–verb (used with object)
5. to entertain; feast; regale.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME jonket < OF (dial.) jonquette rush basket, equiv. to jonc (< L juncus reed) + -ette -ette

Related forms:
jun⋅ket⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To junket
jun·ket   (jŭng'kĭt)   
n.  

  1. A dessert made from flavored milk and rennet.

  2. A party, banquet, or outing.

  3. A trip or tour, especially:

    1. One taken by an official at public expense.

    2. One taken by a person who is the guest of a business or agency seeking favor or patronage.

v.   jun·ket·ed, jun·ket·ing, jun·kets

v.   intr.

  1. To hold a party or banquet.

  2. To go on a junket.

v.   tr.
To fete at a party or banquet.

[Middle English jonket, rush basket, a kind of food served on rushes, feast, from Old North French jonquette, rush basket (probably from jonc, rush,) or from Medieval Latin iuncāta, rush basket, both from Latin iuncus, rush.]
jun'ket·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

junket 
1382, "basket in which fish are caught or carried," from M.L. juncata "rush basket," perhaps from L. juncus "rush." Shifted meaning 1530 to "feast, banquet," probably via notion of a picnic basket, which led to extended sense of "pleasure trip" (1814), and then to "tour by government official at public expense for no discernable public benefit" (1886, Amer.Eng.). Cf. It. cognate giuncata "cream cheese" (originally made in a rush basket).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see junket on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way