nuncheon means A drink or light snack taken in the afternoon; a refreshment between meals. It carries an Arena rating of 1691, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, nuncheon ranks #568 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #600 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #613 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #1,209 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
Why “nuncheon” is a great word
A light refreshment, typically a drink or small snack, taken at midday. Its name descends from Middle English nonshench, noneschench, from none ("noon") and shench, schenche ("draught, cup"), a compound of noon and shink ("to pour out, serve"). Unlike “luncheon,” which denotes a more substantial, often social meal, or the generic modern “snack,” which lacks temporal anchor, “nuncheon” is the ghost of a scheduled, gentle pause. It is a pewter mug of small beer left on a sun-warmed wall, a slice of seedcake with weak tea taken while shadows lengthen, or the quiet, solitary act of breaking one’s fast at noon—a minor sacrament for sustaining the body without burdening the spirit, a civil defense against the slow attrition of the day.
Etymology
From Middle English nonshench, noneschench, nonechenche (“slight refreshment, usually taken in the afternoon”), from none (“noon”) + shench, schenche (“draught, cup”), equivalent to noon + shink (“to pour out, serve”). More at shink, skink.
noun
- A drink or light snack taken in the afternoon; a refreshment between meals.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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