breakfastn.
/ˈbrɛkfəst/, U.S. /ˈbrɛkfəst/ 1. That with which a person breaks his fast in the morning; the first meal of the day.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > breakfast or morning meal
forme-metea1175
breakfast1463
disjune1491
jentation1599
jenticulation1658
meat breakfast1728
English breakfast1773
déjeuner1787
dejeune1788
fork-breakfast1812
tea-breakfast1825
cooked breakfast1848
chota hazri1863
hunt-breakfast1877
petit déjeuner1879
brekker1889
brekkie1904
Continental breakfast1911
prayer breakfast1930
Oslo breakfast1937
fry1959
1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 224 Exspensys in brekfast, xj. d.
1491 Act 7 Hen. VII xxii. Pream. Ye were at your brekefast.
1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 251/1 That men shoulde go to masse as well after sowper as before brekefast.
1594 Lady Russell in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. i. 233 III. 40 Becawse I here your Lordship meaneth to be gon early in the morning, I am bowld to send your pale thin cheecks a comfortable little breckfast.
1762 O. Goldsmith Life R. Nash 46 People of fashion [at Bath] make public breakfasts at the assembly-houses.
1793 W. Cowper Let. 25 Apr. (1984) IV. 325 My only time for study is now before breakfast.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III iii, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 240/2 Dinners convivial and political;..Breakfasts professional and critical.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §27. 207 My assistants were preparing breakfast.
2.
a. Occasionally in wider sense: That which puts an end to a fast, a meal.
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the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun]
mealeOE
meatshiplOE
meal of meatc1330
meal's meatc1330
refectiona1425
eating1483
mealtide1485
repasc1485
sustenancea1500
breakfast1526
repast1530
recreation1538
cooking1804
eat1844
scoff1846
grub1857
khana1859
meetsuk1896
nosh1964
trough1981
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Heb. xii. 16 Esau which for one breakfast solde his right.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 34 I would haue beene a break-fast to the Beast. View more context for this quotation
1684 J. Dryden Amaryllis in Miscellany Poems 241 The Wolves will get a Breakfast by my Death.
b. = wedding-breakfast n. at wedding n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > feast > [noun] > wedding feast
marriage feast?1533
marriage dinner1552
bride-banquet1600
spouse-feast1601
marriage table1603
bridal dinnera1616
wedding-dinner1633
wedding-feast1633
wedding-supper1695
wedding-table1722
breakfast1847
wedding breakfast1850
wedding-banquet1855
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > wedding festivities > [noun] > feast > breakfast
breakfast1847
wedding breakfast1850
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xv. 132 We'll have a wedding, Briggs, and you shall make the breakfast, and be a brides' maid.
1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman iv. 167 I'm off for my honeymoon... Oh don't say that, Violet. And no wedding, no breakfast.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.† breakfast-board n. Obsolete
breakfast-bell n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > meal-time > [noun] > summons to meal
dinner bella1635
kale-bell1776
dinner call1799
tea-bell1836
breakfast-bell1842
warning bell1849
soupy1899
warning gong1938
1842 T. Martin in Fraser's Mag. Dec. The breakfast-bell had sounded.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > dining table > table for serving meals from
surveying-place?1445
breakfast-board1544
credence1567
1544 Privy Purse Exp. Princess Mary (Madden) 149 Item paid..for mending the Brekefaste-borde and fyre-Shovell.
breakfast-china n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > crockery > breakfast crockery
déjeuner1774
breakfast-china1811
breakfast-seta1817
breakfast-service1838
breakfast-things1841
1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility I. ii. 26 The set of breakfast china is twice as handsome as what belongs to this house. View more context for this quotation
1929 E. Bowen Joining Charles 124 Breakfast-china..with a red rim.
breakfast-cloth n.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > household linen > table linen > [noun] > tablecloth > for breakfast table
breakfast-cloth1778
1778 G. L. Way Learning at Loss I. 107 Dipping the Corner of the Breakfast Cloth into his Tea-cup.
1850 C. Dickens David Copperfield xxv. 270 A clean breakfast-cloth.
breakfast coffee n.
ΚΠ
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. vi. vii. 412 In remote streets, men are drinking breakfast-coffee.
breakfast-cup n.
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the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > large
beaker1348
facer1527
wassailing bowl1555
wassail-cup1600
wassail-bowl1606
consciencea1643
bellarmine1720
breakfast-cup1762
longbeard1850
1762 J. Boswell Jrnl. 12 Dec. in London Jrnl. (1950) 81 I ordered some large breakfast cups.
1911 A. Bennett Hilda Lessways i. v. 47 Her big breakfast-cup full of steaming tea.
breakfast-food n.
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the world > food and drink > food > food otherwise characterized > [noun] > breakfast-food
breakfast-food1898
1898 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Feb. 28/1 (advt.) Ralston Health Club Breakfast Food.
1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse vii. 75 The familiar cartons of breakfast food.
breakfast-hour n.
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the world > food and drink > food > meal > meal-time > [noun] > breakfast time
breakfast-time1599
breakfast-hour1811
1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude I. v. 80 An unforeseen indisposition..kept her ladyship in almost hopeless doubt during her breakfast-hour.
1876 C. M. Yonge Womankind xiii. 92 It is very unfortunate that most people's breakfast hour coincides with this only period permitted for religious teaching.
breakfast-nook n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > dining-room
parlourc1384
cenaclea1400
triclinec1440
dining room?1576
dining hall1598
eating-room1613
triclinium1646
supper rooma1661
coffee-room1712
breakfast-room1732
salle-à-manger1762
mess-room1774
refreshment room1785
breakfast-parlour1802
noon-hall1828
dinner room1853
Speisesaal1871
diner1907
dinette1920
breakfast-nook1931
brunch bar1940
1931 Kansas City (Missouri) Times 9 Oct. A cute little room called the breakfast nook.
1958 J. Cannan And be Villain iii. 50 You can come into my kitchen..there's a breakfast nook, as they calls it in the books.
breakfast-parlour n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > dining-room
parlourc1384
cenaclea1400
triclinec1440
dining room?1576
dining hall1598
eating-room1613
triclinium1646
supper rooma1661
coffee-room1712
breakfast-room1732
salle-à-manger1762
mess-room1774
refreshment room1785
breakfast-parlour1802
noon-hall1828
dinner room1853
Speisesaal1871
diner1907
dinette1920
breakfast-nook1931
brunch bar1940
1802 C. Wilmot Irish Peer on Continent (1920) 43 If ‘Italy is the Garden of Europe’,..Scotland the breakfast Parlour, and so on, I really think one may say France is the ‘Drawing-room’.
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. vii. 120 She found her way..to the breakfast-parlour . View more context for this quotation
breakfast-party n.
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the world > food and drink > food > meal > feast > [noun] > breakfast, dinner, or supper party
dinner party1749
supper party1754
breakfast-party1814
dinner dance1887
bachelor-dinner1902
American supper1916
kitty party1991
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > [noun] > dinner- (etc.) party
dinner party1749
supper party1754
waffle party1808
breakfast-party1814
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park II. x. 232 Sir Thomas asked Crawford to join the early breakfast party . View more context for this quotation
1871 J. Morley Crit. Misc. (1886) I. 298 The hard geniality of some clever college-tutor of stiff manners, entertaining undergraduates at an official breakfast party.
breakfast-room n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > dining-room
parlourc1384
cenaclea1400
triclinec1440
dining room?1576
dining hall1598
eating-room1613
triclinium1646
supper rooma1661
coffee-room1712
breakfast-room1732
salle-à-manger1762
mess-room1774
refreshment room1785
breakfast-parlour1802
noon-hall1828
dinner room1853
Speisesaal1871
diner1907
dinette1920
breakfast-nook1931
brunch bar1940
1732 Duchess of Marlborough Let. 4 July (1943) 36 The rooms I mean, is that where the red velvet bed stands and the room next to it, which they call the breakfast room.
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott VII. 404 A charming breakfast-room which looks to the Tweed.
breakfast-service n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > crockery > breakfast crockery
déjeuner1774
breakfast-china1811
breakfast-seta1817
breakfast-service1838
breakfast-things1841
1838 J. Romilly Diary 16 Oct. in Cambridge Diary (1967) 156 She ordered a beautiful breakf. service for him.
1855 A. Trollope Warden viii. 122 The breakfast-service on the table was equally costly and equally plain.
1939 A. Thirkell Before Lunch ix. 249 I shall give you a breakfast service and a very large Persian cat.
breakfast-stall n.
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the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > eating-house or restaurant > snack bar
buffet1792
breakfast-stall1853
fish-bar1887
stand-up1897
pizzeria1901
luncheonette1924
snack bar1930
snackette1935
snackery1936
pizza bar1956
Wimpy Bar1959
Wimpy1966
salad bar1976
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xlvii. 449 A breakfast-stall at a street corner.
breakfast-table n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > dining table > breakfast table or bar
breakfast-table1762
breakfast bar1934
1762 T. Chippendale Gentleman & Cabinet-maker's Director (ed. 3) 8 Two Designs of Breakfast-Tables. One hath a Stretching-Rail...The other hath a Shelf.
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. v. 67 Never in her life before had she beheld half such variety on a breakfast-table . View more context for this quotation
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist II. xxix. 155 A well-spread breakfast-table.
breakfast-things n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > crockery > breakfast crockery
déjeuner1774
breakfast-china1811
breakfast-seta1817
breakfast-service1838
breakfast-things1841
1841 ‘M. A. Titmarsh’ in Britannia 15 May 315/2 All the breakfast things begin to clatter.
1960 ‘J. Bell’ Well-known Face iv. 37 She had moved both cups off the little tray to make room for her breakfast things.
breakfast-time n.
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the world > food and drink > food > meal > meal-time > [noun] > breakfast time
breakfast-time1599
breakfast-hour1811
1599 Lady Hoby Diary 25 Sept. (1930) 74 After I had praied I walked in the garden tell break fast time.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 108 Even before Breakfast-time.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. vi. 101 He had ridden the whole day since breakfast time.
breakfast-tray n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [noun] > utensils for serving > serving-plate or -tray
trayOE
chargerc1305
service plate1548
venison dish1567
venison plate1567
fruit-trencher1642
salver1661
server1677
voider1677
waiting salver1714
tureen1727
waiter1738
waiting board1770
plateau1790
traylet1825
breakfast-traya1865
cheese board1916
thali1969
charger1984
a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) II. xxi. 210 Mrs. Gibson breakfasted in bed... Her own private letters always went up on her breakfast-tray.
1893 E. F. Benson Dodo (ed. 3) I. iv. 82 He met a footman carrying a breakfast-tray.
C2.
breakfast-set n. the crockery in use at breakfast.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > crockery > breakfast crockery
déjeuner1774
breakfast-china1811
breakfast-seta1817
breakfast-service1838
breakfast-things1841
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. vii. 123 The elegance of the breakfast set . View more context for this quotation
breakfast television n. (also breakfast TV) originally U.S., television broadcasting in the morning, esp. at or around breakfast time.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > type of programme
dramedy1905
news film1912
sex comedy1915
television adaptation1935
action comedy1936
sportcast1939
teleshopper1949
telethon1949
special1952
television special1952
TV special1952
science-fictioner1953
spectacular1954
promo1955
sitcom1956
spec1959
spin-off1959
reality programming1962
teleroman1964
mockumentary1965
serialization1965
talk show1965
laugh-in1967
novela1968
reality show1968
breakfast television1971
spy series1975
reality television1978
reality TV1980
series1988
shockumentary1988
1971 Life 10 Dec. 68/2 I felt I had performed reasonably well on midnight radio and breakfast television from Boston to San Francisco.
1980 Economist 12 July 93/3 Channel Four..is meant to start then [sc. in 1982] (so too is Breakfast TV, but its revenue is likely to be less than 1% of total TV advertising).
1984 S. Townsend Growing Pains Adrian Mole 144 At 6.25 I woke my parents up by shouting loudly up the stairs that Breakfast Television was starting.
1987 Financial Times 21 Feb. (Weekend Suppl.) p. xviii/8 There was nothing to divert me except Breakfast TV.
breakfast-time television n. (also breakfast-time TV) originally U.S. = breakfast television n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > a broadcast programme or item > [noun] > types of
news bulletin1857
news summary1875
police message1886
newsflash1904
headline1908
play-by-play1909
feature1913
spot ad1916
magazine1921
news1923
time signal1923
outside broadcast1924
radiocast1924
amateur hour1925
bulletin1925
serial1926
commentary1927
rebroadcast1927
school broadcast1927
feature programme1928
trailer1928
hour1930
schools broadcast1930
show1930
spot advertisement1930
spot announcement1930
sustaining1931
flash1934
newscast1934
commercial1935
clambake1937
remote1937
repeat1937
snap1937
soap opera1939
sportcast1939
spot commercial1939
daytimer1940
magazine programme1941
season1942
soap1943
soaper1946
parade1947
public service announcement1948
simulcasting1949
breakfast-time television1952
call-in1952
talkathon1952
game show1953
kidvid1955
roundup1958
telenovela1961
opt-out1962
miniseries1963
simulcast1964
soapie1964
party political1966
novela1968
phone-in1968
sudser1968
schools programme1971
talk-in1971
God slot1972
roadshow1973
trail1973
drama-doc1977
informercial1980
infotainment1980
infomercial1981
kideo1983
talk-back1984
indie1988
omnibus1988
teleserye2000
kidult-
1952 N.Y. Times 20 Jan. ii. 11/1 Breakfast-time TV has been a commercial success in some cities outside of New York.
1980 Economist 26 Jan. 18 What the IBA wants from contenders is profitability. The only major innovation it is encouraging is national breakfast-time television.
1987 Maclean's 13 Apr. 46 She describes the England around her with Dickensian sweep: the New Right, the Falklands War, new technology, breakfast-time TV.
Draft additions September 2006
breakfast bar (a) originally U.S. a raised counter in a home kitchen; (b) a café where breakfast is sold at a counter; (also) a breakfast buffet; (c) originally U.S. a prepackaged food similar in size and shape to a chocolate bar, typically made of cereal and fruit, and eaten instead of a sit-down breakfast.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > dining table > breakfast table or bar
breakfast-table1762
breakfast bar1934
1934 Washington Post 12 Mar. 11/7 The breakfast nook..has gone modern and become a breakfast bar... High stools..take the place of chairs.
1963 Times 22 Jan. 7/7 Some motels allow a coffee percolator but draw the line at electric frying pans for bacon and eggs, for many have their own breakfast bars.
1975 Chicago Tribune 11 May (Mag. section) 36 (advt.) New Carnation breakfast bar is the delicious way to enjoy instant breakfast nourishment—anytime!
1980 Times 20 Nov. 8/4 There is fresh papaya, pineapple and melon on the hotel breakfast bar.
1985 T. Blackwell & J. Seabrook World Still to Win vii. 139 Ceramic-tiled kitchens with breakfast bars, open staircases and louvred walk-in wardrobes.
1996 N.Z. News UK 28 Feb. 8/2 After a stint flipping eggs at a breakfast bar in Queenstown, the former Invercargill mayor is back.
2001 Daily Tel. 23 Oct. 7/8 In a survey of 19 cereal bars sold as ‘breakfast bars’, all had more fat and sugar than a bowl of Rice Crispies.
Draft additions March 2009
to eat (also have) (a person or thing) for breakfast: to overcome, dispose of, or deal with (a person or thing) without difficulty.Sometimes as part of an extended metaphor.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)] > overcome or defeat > easily
to eat (also have) (a person or thing) for breakfast1693
to walk over (the course)1823
to run (also make) rings round (also around)1875
to shut out1881
to walk away from1883
to walk round1901
to roll over1937
to walk (all) over (a person)1976
1693 Humours & Conversat. Town i. 92 He was an Iniskilling-Man, and had eat half an hundred Irish Men for a Breakfast.
1719 J. Bernal Ovid in Masquerade 22 In Death's cold Chains I made his Neck fast Who'ad eat a Dozen Greeks for Breakfast.
1733 H. Fielding Miser (London ed.) v. xiv. 82 What are two thousand Pounds? Why, Sir, the Court of Chancery will eat it up for a breakfast.
1861 Harper's Mag. Aug. 428/1 Mr. Stephens had said he could eat Ben Hill for breakfast, Rance Wright for dinner, and Bob Trippe for supper.
1888 W. B. Churchward ‘Blackbirding’ in S. Pacific 125 Look sharp, or by golly, they will have us for breakfast.
1962 Life 23 Feb. 18 (advt.) This beauty eats mountains for breakfast—Pontiac Grand Prix!
1999 A. Wheatle Brixton Rock 5 The court'd have him for breakfast for interviewing a minor without a chaperone.
2004 Asiana Autumn 85/1 Your rivals have their own way of bringing you down, but if you stoop to their level—chances are they'll eat you for breakfast.
Draft additions January 2018
breakfast club n. (a) a group of people, esp. those with a common interest, who regularly meet for breakfast; (b) (chiefly British) any of various schemes which provide supervised care and breakfast to schoolchildren before regular school hours, usually on school premises.
ΚΠ
1786 J. Q. Adams 10 Dec. in R. J. Taylor & M. Friedlaender Diary (1981) II. 138 The breakfast club were at my chamber.
1893 Aberdeen Weekly Jrnl. 18 Oct. I expect you'll find him at the Breakfast Club. He's out with the Duke of Tec and Tom Smith.
1948 High School Jrnl. 31 199 Ten of the practices..were being provided in an unsatisfactory manner... These were..breakfast clubs, and hot drinks on cold mornings for pupils who ride the bus.
1995 New Scientist 6 May 21/3 Cafe Cyberia has launched Senior-Nauts—a breakfast club for mature beginners.
2011 Rotary Today June 13/1 They support breakfast clubs at inner city schools.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
breakfastv.
/ˈbrɛkfəst/, U.S. /ˈbrɛkfəst/ 1. intransitive. To break one's fast (see break v. 29c); to take the first meal of the day.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating meals > eat meal [verb (intransitive)] > eat breakfast
to break one's fastc1460
jenticulate1623
breakfast1679
1679 E. Everard Depositions Popish Plot 11 After break-fasting peaceably.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 200. ⁋6 A back room, where he always breakfasted when he had not great company.
1883 J. A. Froude Short Stud. IV. ii. ii. 181 If an undergraduate now and then breakfasted with his tutor, the undergraduate was shy.
2. transitive. To provide with breakfast, entertain at breakfast.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > entertain with food > entertain with specific meal
dinec1475
sup1609
supper1622
breakfast1793
dinner1822
bedinner1837
tea1844
tiffin1866
lunch1892
1793 T. Jefferson Writings IV. 83 They will breakfast you.
1885 M. Pattison Mem. 50 I was breakfasted by Copleston.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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n.1463
v.1679- square tree
- square tuck
- square twelves
- square wave
- square well
- square wheels
- square whelk
- square work
- square yard
- square yards
- square-barred
- square-based
- square-basher
- square-bashing
- square-bladed
- square-bodied
- square-bore
- square-borer
- square-box house
- square-bracketed
- square-browed
- square-built
- square-chinned
- stage australian
- stage boards