"elevenses" meaning in English

See elevenses in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ɪˈlɛv(ə)nzɪz/ [Received-Pronunciation], /əˈlɛvənzəz/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-elevenses.wav [Southern-England] Forms: elevenses [plural]
Etymology: From dialectal elevens (“the eleven-o'clock meal”). Etymology templates: {{m|en|elevens||the eleven-o'clock meal}} elevens (“the eleven-o'clock meal”) Head templates: {{en-noun|-|elevenses}} elevenses (usually uncountable, plural elevenses)
  1. (British, informal) A short mid-morning break taken around eleven o'clock for a drink or light snack. Tags: British, informal, uncountable, usually Categories (topical): Eleven, Meals Synonyms: elevensies (english: one sense) Related terms: eleven, morning tea Coordinate_terms: fourses Translations (short mid-morning break): les once [feminine] (Asturian), 上午茶 (shàngwǔchá) (Chinese Mandarin), kolaziono (Esperanto), διάλειμμα (diáleimma) [neuter] (Greek), δεκατιανό (dekatianó) [neuter] (Greek), ארוחת עשר [feminine] (Hebrew), イレブンシス (Japanese), илевенсез (ilevensez) (Macedonian), minum pukul sebelas pagi (Malay), второй завтрак (vtoroj zavtrak) (Russian), las once [feminine] (Spanish), once [feminine] (Spanish)

Download JSON data for elevenses meaning in English (6.7kB)

{
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "elevens",
        "3": "",
        "4": "the eleven-o'clock meal"
      },
      "expansion": "elevens (“the eleven-o'clock meal”)",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From dialectal elevens (“the eleven-o'clock meal”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "elevenses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
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  "hyphenation": [
    "ele‧vens‧es"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Eleven",
          "orig": "en:Eleven",
          "parents": [
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            "All topics",
            "Terms by semantic function",
            "Fundamental"
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        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Meals",
          "orig": "en:Meals",
          "parents": [
            "Foods",
            "Eating",
            "Food and drink",
            "Human behaviour",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "coordinate_terms": [
        {
          "word": "fourses"
        }
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1837 February, Anna Lee, “The Pinch of Salt”, in The Ladies’ Companion: A Monthly Magazine, Embracing Literature and the Arts, […], volume VI, New York, N.Y.: Published by William W. Snowdon, →OCLC, page 162, column 2",
          "text": "The harvestmen who board in the farm-houses fare sumptuously during the month of harvest.— […] at eleven o'clock in the morning, and four in the afternoon, they have each a large light plum-bun, with a pint of ale a piece, carried into the field, to encourage them to work cheerfully. These extra refreshments they call, in their provincial language, their \"elevenses\" and \"fourses.\" I could not at first imagine what the servants meant by talking of carrying the harvestmen their elevenses and fourses, till Mrs. Henley explained that it was a vulgar abbreviation of the four-o'clock and eleven o'clock meals.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1989, Khushwant Singh, “Man, How the Government of India Run!”, in The Collected Short Stories of Khushwant Singh, New Delhi: Ravi Dayal Publisher, page 96; republished as “Book Extract: They also Serve …”, in Sunday, volume 18, number 4, Calcutta: Ananda Bazar Patrika, 2 January – 2 February 1991, →OCLC, pages 75–76",
          "text": "\"In Europe,\" said Ghosh Babu who read a great deal, \"they all stop work at eleven to have tea or coffee or cocoa, or some stronger beverage; they call it elevenses.\" / […] [\"]Ghosh Babu, how long time they get for elevenses?\" / \"About half-an-hour,\" replied Ghosh with authority. […] / \"We get no time off for elevenses,\" complained Sambamurthy. \"We should bring it up before the Clerks' Association.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Simon Majumdar, “Elevenses”, in Eating for Britain: A Journey into the Heart (and Belly) of the Nation, London: John Murray",
          "text": "Even in these tough economic times when many employers seem hell-bent on sucking any and all vestiges of pleasure out of the daily existence of the average working stiff, some things remain sacrosanct. Chief among them is the partaking of elevenses. Even if we spend the majority of our lives glued to a desk, staring at a computer screen or in meetings pretending we care about the interpretation of a spreadsheet, the break for a hot drink and a little snackette between breakfast and lunch is a covenant between Britain and God.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 January 13, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London's Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 63",
          "text": "Betjeman, who was a bit of a gricer, wrote: \"I know of no greater pleasure for elevenses in London than to sit in this tea place and watch the trains arrive and depart.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A short mid-morning break taken around eleven o'clock for a drink or light snack."
      ],
      "id": "en-elevenses-en-noun-Cur3SnVU",
      "links": [
        [
          "short",
          "short#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "mid-morning",
          "mid-morning"
        ],
        [
          "break",
          "break#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "eleven",
          "eleven"
        ],
        [
          "o'clock",
          "o'clock"
        ],
        [
          "drink",
          "drink#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "light",
          "light#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "snack",
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, informal) A short mid-morning break taken around eleven o'clock for a drink or light snack."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "eleven"
        },
        {
          "word": "morning tea"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "english": "one sense",
          "word": "elevensies"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "informal",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ast",
          "lang": "Asturian",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "les once"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "shàngwǔchá",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "word": "上午茶"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "word": "kolaziono"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "diáleimma",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "διάλειμμα"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "dekatianó",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "δεκατιανό"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ארוחת עשר"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "word": "イレブンシス"
        },
        {
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "ilevensez",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "word": "илевенсез"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "word": "minum pukul sebelas pagi"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "vtoroj zavtrak",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "word": "второй завтрак"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "las once"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "short mid-morning break",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "once"
        }
      ]
    }
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  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪˈlɛv(ə)nzɪz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈlɛvənzəz/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
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      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
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{
  "coordinate_terms": [
    {
      "word": "fourses"
    }
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  "etymology_templates": [
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        "2": "elevens",
        "3": "",
        "4": "the eleven-o'clock meal"
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      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From dialectal elevens (“the eleven-o'clock meal”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "elevenses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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      "word": "eleven"
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    {
      "word": "morning tea"
    }
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        "English informal terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English nouns with irregular plurals",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns",
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          "text": "The harvestmen who board in the farm-houses fare sumptuously during the month of harvest.— […] at eleven o'clock in the morning, and four in the afternoon, they have each a large light plum-bun, with a pint of ale a piece, carried into the field, to encourage them to work cheerfully. These extra refreshments they call, in their provincial language, their \"elevenses\" and \"fourses.\" I could not at first imagine what the servants meant by talking of carrying the harvestmen their elevenses and fourses, till Mrs. Henley explained that it was a vulgar abbreviation of the four-o'clock and eleven o'clock meals.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "1989, Khushwant Singh, “Man, How the Government of India Run!”, in The Collected Short Stories of Khushwant Singh, New Delhi: Ravi Dayal Publisher, page 96; republished as “Book Extract: They also Serve …”, in Sunday, volume 18, number 4, Calcutta: Ananda Bazar Patrika, 2 January – 2 February 1991, →OCLC, pages 75–76",
          "text": "\"In Europe,\" said Ghosh Babu who read a great deal, \"they all stop work at eleven to have tea or coffee or cocoa, or some stronger beverage; they call it elevenses.\" / […] [\"]Ghosh Babu, how long time they get for elevenses?\" / \"About half-an-hour,\" replied Ghosh with authority. […] / \"We get no time off for elevenses,\" complained Sambamurthy. \"We should bring it up before the Clerks' Association.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Simon Majumdar, “Elevenses”, in Eating for Britain: A Journey into the Heart (and Belly) of the Nation, London: John Murray",
          "text": "Even in these tough economic times when many employers seem hell-bent on sucking any and all vestiges of pleasure out of the daily existence of the average working stiff, some things remain sacrosanct. Chief among them is the partaking of elevenses. Even if we spend the majority of our lives glued to a desk, staring at a computer screen or in meetings pretending we care about the interpretation of a spreadsheet, the break for a hot drink and a little snackette between breakfast and lunch is a covenant between Britain and God.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 January 13, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London's Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 63",
          "text": "Betjeman, who was a bit of a gricer, wrote: \"I know of no greater pleasure for elevenses in London than to sit in this tea place and watch the trains arrive and depart.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A short mid-morning break taken around eleven o'clock for a drink or light snack."
      ],
      "links": [
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        ],
        [
          "mid-morning",
          "mid-morning"
        ],
        [
          "break",
          "break#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "eleven",
          "eleven"
        ],
        [
          "o'clock",
          "o'clock"
        ],
        [
          "drink",
          "drink#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "light",
          "light#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "snack",
          "snack#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, informal) A short mid-morning break taken around eleven o'clock for a drink or light snack."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "english": "one sense",
          "word": "elevensies"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "informal",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    }
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      "tags": [
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      "ipa": "/əˈlɛvənzəz/",
      "tags": [
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      "tags": [
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ast",
      "lang": "Asturian",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "les once"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "shàngwǔchá",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "word": "上午茶"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "word": "kolaziono"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "diáleimma",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "διάλειμμα"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "dekatianó",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "δεκατιανό"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ארוחת עשר"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "word": "イレブンシス"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "ilevensez",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "word": "илевенсез"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "word": "minum pukul sebelas pagi"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "vtoroj zavtrak",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "word": "второй завтрак"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "las once"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "short mid-morning break",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "once"
    }
  ],
  "word": "elevenses"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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