Lunch : Lunch is the meal of the middle of the day, compared to the Breakfast, took the matin. But, according to its etymology (from the Latin disjuncture, "break the young "), the word originally referred to the premier meal of the day, consisting mainly of pain as well as Soupe, even of wine, before the appearance of the coffee, tea and chocolate.
In France, the institution of lunch at noon actually dates from the Revolution. Until then, the meal of the middle of the day was called dinner. But, since the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly began at noon and ended around 6 o'clock, it was necessary to postpone the dinner at the end of the afternoon ; deputies unable to remain at fasting from morning until evening, they then inaugurated the custom of taking, around 11 o'clock, a second breakfast more consistent than the first.
A certain Miss Hardy, who in 1804 ran a cafe on the Grands Boulevards, near the Théâtre des Italiens, invented the "lunch à la fork » by offering its customers chops, kidneys, sausages and other grill presented on a buffet lines (See Cafe Hardy). The evolution of cabarets and cafes, then the birth of restaurants made lunch an important moment in social life. Nowadays, lunch, which in many countries is reduced to a snack, is generally eaten around half past twelve or one o'clock; in everyday life, it often remains fast and light, caught in institutions de fast food.
Professional imperatives have introduced "business lunches", while certain events, such as the awarding of a literary prize, take place during a lunch (See Restaurant Drouant).
But, even today, the "lunch of the Sunday » still remains a symbol of family life.
Quote from the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez (1917-2014): “We had lunch in front of the worm-eaten wooden jetty by which the whole world had entered the country. " in Memory of my sad whores (2004)
Quote from the Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda (1949-2020): “He had had lunch very early and knew that it is not good to hunt with a too full stomach. The hunter must be a little hungry, because hunger sharpens the senses. " in the Old man who read romance novels (1988)
See as well Lunch under Mouth slang.