lunch
The origin and history of lunch.
Etymology
First recorded in the 1580s meaning simply "a hunk of food," lunch likely comes from lump, in the same way hunch comes from hump. The word later merged in meaning with luncheon, and by the 1800s lunch had become the everyday term for a midday meal.
Class of 1580
lunch first entered the language around 1580. Other words from the same year:
See the full Class of 1580 →