Brunch Was Coined as a Joke in 1895
Brunch is a late-morning meal. It is one of the earliest blend words in English, and it was invented in print.
Brunch is a meal combining breakfast and lunch. Its birth is unusually well documented: the British writer Guy Beringer proposed it in *Hunter's Weekly* in 1895 as a cheerful alternative to heavy Sunday breakfasts, arguing it would suit people who had been out late on Saturday. The word is a blend, or portmanteau, of the two meal names.
- A late-morning meal. *Sunday brunch.*
- To eat brunch. *We brunched at eleven.*
- Brunch as a modifier. *A brunch menu.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | brunch | A long brunch. |
| Plural | brunches | Weekend brunches. |
| Verb | brunch | We brunched late. |
| Related | blend | A blend word. |
| Related | portmanteau | A portmanteau word. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Brunch is served until two.Restaurant.
- Brunch is a portmanteau word.Two words fused.
- They brunch every Sunday.Verb.
Other blend words
- smog — smoke and fog
- motel — motor and hotel
- podcast — iPod and broadcast
- guesstimate — guess and estimate
- spork — spoon and fork
Coined in 1895 by Guy Beringer, blending *breakfast* and *lunch*. Lewis Carroll's term *portmanteau word* for such blends predates it by three decades.
Who invented brunch?
Guy Beringer proposed both the meal and the word in a magazine article in 1895.
What is a portmanteau word?
A word made by fusing parts of two others. Lewis Carroll coined the term, borrowing the name of a two-part suitcase.