luncheon

[luhn-chuh n]

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noun

lunch, especially a formal lunch held in connection with a meeting or other special occasion: the alumni luncheon.

Origin of luncheon

1570–80; dissimilated variant of nuncheon (now dial.), Middle English none(s)chench noon drink, equivalent to none noon + schench, Old English scenc a drink, cup, akin to Old English scencan to pour out, give drink, cognate with Dutch, German schenken

Related formslunch·eon·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for luncheon

fare, snack, picnic, dessert, feast, refreshment, dinner, tea, table, special, luncheon, lunch, supper, breakfast, brunch, celebration, morsel, festivity, shindig, gala

Examples from the Web for luncheon

Contemporary Examples of luncheon

“Kristen Wiig did that,” said Jonze at a New York luncheon thrown for the film by Peggy Siegal.
The Mysteries of ‘Her’: Kristen Wiig’s Phone Sex Scene, Scarlett Johansson, and More
Marlow Stern
December 11, 2013
The president was in Dallas to deliver a luncheon speech, and would only be on the ground for a couple hours.
Would It Have Saved JFK? Jim Lehrer on the Mystery of the Bubble Top
Eleanor Clift
November 4, 2013
For his part, Rouhani ascribed his failure to attend the luncheon to a lack of preparation.
Rouhani at the U.N.—Disappointment or Success?
Ali Gharib
September 25, 2013
Tim Gunn and jurors Isabel Toledo and Ruben Toledo will also attend the luncheon.
Michelle Obama to Host National Design Award Winners; Is This the End of Prada Marfa?
The Fashion Beast Team
September 19, 2013
And for some at the luncheon, these Republican tics were an issue.
The RNC Celebrates MLK Jr. and How Republicans Can Win Black Voters
Jamelle Bouie
August 27, 2013

Historical Examples of luncheon

As I told you, I am going over to the office after luncheon.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
The girls will see it this morning and again when they come in to luncheon.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Then there is the sandwich, which always finds a place in the luncheon.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
I say my companion and I "talked" of these several sights and incidents as I ate my luncheon.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
"Her luncheon," some of the art-students said; but if it did, no one had ever seen her eat it.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith

British Dictionary definitions for luncheon

luncheon

noun

a lunch, esp a formal one

Word Origin for luncheon

C16: probably variant of nuncheon, from Middle English noneschench, from none noon + schench drink

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for luncheon

"light repast between mealtimes," 1650s (lunching; spelling luncheon by 1706); earlier "thick piece, hunk," 1570s (luncheon), of uncertain origin. Perhaps northern English dialectal lunch "hunk of bread or cheese" (1580s; probably from Spanish lonja "a slice," literally "loin"), blended with or influenced by nuncheon (Middle English nonechenche, mid-14c.) "light mid-day meal," from none "noon" (see noon) + schench "drink," from Old English scenc, from scencan "pour out."

Despite the form lunching in the 1650s source OED discounts that it possibly could be from lunch (v.), which is much later. It suggests perhaps an analogy with truncheon, etc. Especially in reference to an early afternoon meal eaten by those who have a noontime dinner.