- lunch
- modern sense of "mid-day repast" is 1829, shortened form of luncheon. The verb meaning "to take to lunch" is attested from 1823.
- 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."
- breakfast
- 1463, from break (v.) + fast (n.). Cf. Fr. déjeuner "to breakfast," from L. dis-jejunare "to break the fast." The verb is recorded from 1679. The Sp. almuerzo "lunch," but formerly and still locally "breakfast," is from L. admorsus, pp. of admordere "to bite into," from ad- "to" + mordere "to bite." Words for "breakfast" tend over time to shift in meaning toward "lunch;" cf. Fr. déjeuner "breakfast," later "lunch" (equivalent of Sp. desayuno "breakfast"), both from V.L. *disieiunare "to breakfast," from L. dis- + ieiunare "fast."
- brunch
- 1896, British student slang merger of breakfast and lunch.
"To be fashionable nowadays we must 'brunch'. Truly an excellent portmanteau word, introduced, by the way, last year, by Mr. Guy Beringer, in the now defunct Hunter's Weekly, and indicating a combined breakfast and lunch." ["Punch," Aug. 1, 1896]
- taco
- tortilla filled with spiced meat, etc., 1949, from Mexican Sp., "light lunch," lit. "plug, wadding."
- dinner
- c.1300, from O.Fr. disner, originally "breakfast," later "lunch," noun use of infinitive disner (see dine). Always used in Eng. for the main meal of the day; shift from midday to evening began with the fashionable classes. Childish reduplication din-din is attested from 1905.
- eight
- O.E. eahta, æhta, from P.Gmc. *akhto(u) (cf. O.N. atta, Ger. acht, Goth. ahtau), from PIE *okto (cf. Gk. okto, L. octo, O.Ir. ocht-n, Bret. eiz, Skt. astau, Avestan ashta). Klein calls it "an old dual form, orig. meaning 'twice four.' " Meaning "eight-man crew of a rowing boat" is from 1847. The Spanish piece of eight (1699) was so called because it was worth eight reals. To be behind the eight ball "in trouble" (1932) is a metaphor from shooting pool. Eighteen is O.E. eahtatene; eighty is O.E. hundeahtatig, from hund- "ten." Eighty-six, slang for "eliminate" (1936), originated as lunch counter slang, a cook's word for "none" when asked for something not available, probably rhyming slang for nix.
- three
- O.E. þreo, fem. and neut. (masc. þri, þrie), from P.Gmc. *thrijiz (cf. O.Fris. thre, M.Du., Du. drie, O.H.G. dri, Ger. drei, O.N. þrir, Dan. tre), from PIE *trejes (cf. Skt. trayas, Avestan thri, Gk. treis, L. tres, Lith. trys, O.C.S. trye, Ir., Welsh tri "three"). 3-D first attested 1952, abbreviation of three-dimensional (1878). Three-piece suit is recorded from 1909. Three cheers for ______ is recorded from 1751. Three-martini lunch is attested from 1972. Three-ring circus first recorded 1898. Three-sixty "complete turnaround" is from 1927, originally among aviators, in ref. to the number of degrees in a full circle. Three musketeers translates Fr. les trois mousquetaires, title of an 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas père.
- out (adv.)
- O.E. ut, common Gmc. (cf. O.N., O.Fris., Goth. ut, Du. uit, Ger. aus), from PIE base *ud- "up, up away" (cf. Skt. ut "up, out," uttarah "higher, upper, later, northern;" Avestan uz- "up, out," O.Ir. ud- "out," L. usque "all the way to, without interruption," Gk. hysteros "the latter," Rus. vy- "out"). Meaning "unconscious" is attested from 1898, originally in boxing. Sense of "not popular or modern" is from 1966. The verb was O.E. utian "expel," used in many senses over the years. Meaning "to expose as a closet homosexual" is first recorded 1990; as an adj. meaning "openly avowing one's homosexuality" it dates from 1970s (see closet; senses of "into public view" have been present in out since 16c.). Noun sense in baseball (1860) was originally from cricket, where it is attested from 1746. Adverbial phrase out-and-out "thoroughly" is attested from early 14c.; adj. usage is attested from 1813; out-of-the-way (adj.) "remote, secluded" is attested from late 15c. Out-of-towner "one not from a certain place" is from 1911. Shakespeare's It out-herods Herod ("Hamlet") reflects Herod as stock braggart and bully in old religious drama and was widely imitated 19c. Out to lunch "insane" is student slang from 1955; out of this world "excellent" is from 1938; out of sight "excellent, superior" is from 1891.