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luncheon

 - 3 dictionary results

lunch⋅eon

  [luhn-chuhn]
Use luncheon in a Sentence
–noun
lunch, esp. a formal lunch held in connection with a meeting or other special occasion: the alumni luncheon.
Origin:
1570–80; dissimilated var. of nuncheon (now dial.), ME none(s)chench noon drink, equiv. to none noon + schench, OE scenc a drink, cup, akin to OE scencan to pour out, give drink, c. D, G schenken

Related forms:
lunch⋅eon⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To luncheon
lunch·eon   (lŭn'chən)   
n.  

  1. A lunch, especially a formal one.

  2. An afternoon party at which a light meal is served.


[Probably alteration (influenced by dialectal lunch, hunk of cheese or bread) of obsolete nuncheon, light snack, from Middle English nonshench : none, noon; see noon + schench, drink (from Old English scenc, from scencan, to pour out).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

luncheon 
1580, nonechenche "light mid-day meal," from none "noon" + schench "drink," from O.E. scenc, from scencan "pour out." Altered by northern Eng. dial. lunch "hunk of bread or cheese" (1590), which probably is from Sp. lonja "a slice," lit. "loin." When it first appeared, luncheon meant "thick piece, hunk;" sense of "light repast between mealtimes" is from 1652, esp. in ref. to an early afternoon meal eaten by those who have a noontime dinner. Type of restaurant called a luncheonette is attested from 1924, Amer.Eng. Slang phrase out to lunch "insane, stupid, clueless" first recorded 1955, on notion of being "not there."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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