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junket

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkɪt/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English jonket, ioncate “a rush basket”,[2][3][4][5] probably borrowed from Medieval Latin iuncata (“rush basket”)[2][3][4] or Old North French jonquette,[2][3][6] from Latin iuncus (“rush”).[2][3][4][5][6] It is related to jonquil.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A basket, originally of rushes, especially one for catching or carrying fish (1382).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

A kind of cream cheese or curds was made in a rush basket or served on rush mats, and from about 1450–1460 that dish was called a junket too;[7][3][4] Italian giuncata has the same sense.[4] The word then meant any dainty or sweet dish,[7] and by about 1530 a feast or banquet,[7][4] perhaps through the idea of a picnic basket.[4][3] From 1814 it meant a pleasure trip,[3][4] and by 1886 in American English a trip taken by an official at public expense with no obvious public benefit.[4]

Timeline

  • 1382 – a rush basket.[7][3]
  • c1460 – a cream cheese or curds.[7][3]
  • 1530 – a feast or banquet.[7][4]
  • 1555 – verb, to feast.[7][5]
  • 1814 – a pleasure trip.[3][4]
  • 1886 – a trip at public expense.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A trip made by an official at public expense, or a promotional trip paid for by a business.
  2. A pleasure trip, party or banquet.
  3. A sweet dessert of flavoured milk set with rennet.

Verb

  1. To go on a junket.
  2. To feast or banquet.

Word family

  • junketer
  • junketeer
  • jonquil
  • junta

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press