Brunch or bruncheon is a combination of breakfast and lunch. The term is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch(eon). Brunch is often served after a morning event or prior to an afternoon one, such as a wedding or sporting event. A common misconception is that after midday, the meal is a luncheon. This however is not true so long as a breakfast has not been eaten. While common in the United States, according to Punch magazine, the term was introduced in Britain around 1896 by Hunter's Weekly, then becoming student slang. A possible origin of having Sunday brunch in Victorian England came from giving the servants Sunday as their day off. The servants then early Sunday morning would set out a buffet of cold items that would be self serve for the rest of the house.

Some restaurants and hotels serve brunch, especially on Sundays and holidays. Such brunches are often serve-yourself buffets, but menu-ordered meals may be available instead of, or with, the buffet. The meal usually involves standard breakfast foods such as eggs, sausages, bacon, ham, fruits, pastries, pancakes, and the like. However, it can include almost any other type of food served throughout the day. Buffets may have quiche, large roasts of meat or poultry, cold seafood like shrimp and smoked fish, salads, soups, vegetable dishes, many types of breadstuffs, and desserts of all sorts.

The dim sum brunch is a popular meal in Chinese restaurants worldwide. It consists of a wide variety of stuffed bao (buns), dumplings, and other savory or sweet food items which have been steamed, deep-fried, or baked. Customers select small portions from passing carts, as the kitchen continuously produces and sends out more freshly-prepared dishes.

Special occasions

Brunch meals are prepared by restaurants and hotels for special occasions, such as weddings, Valentine's or Mother's Day, with recipes available or meals offered.

French language

The Académie française prefers that French speakers do not incorporate English words like brunch into their language, and suggests using the phrase le grand petit déjeuner, literally "big breakfast," and more literally, word-for-word this means "big little lunch." Despite the wishes of the Académie, the typical French person readily says "brunch." In fact, most French-French dictionaries have an entry for "brunch" but not "grand petit déjeuner," defining brunch as a "late meal taken in the morning, in place of both breakfast and lunch.".

German Language

German-speaking countries readily adopt Anglicisms, and "brunch" is no exception, defining it as "a combination of breakfast and lunch." However, the German language has its own word for "brunch": Gabelfrühstück (literally, "fork breakfast"). While German versions of the word might exist, they are not used.