[5] The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine, which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night carousers" in the writer Guy Beringer's article "Brunch: A Plea"[6] in Hunter's Weekly.
[7][8] Instead of England's early Sunday dinner, a postchurch ordeal of heavy meats and savory pies, the author wrote, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fareBy eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers.
"Despite the substantially later date it has also been claimed that the term was possibly coined by reporter Frank Ward O'Malley, who wrote in the early 20th century for the New York City newspaper, The Sun from 1906 until 1919.
The meal usually consists of standard breakfast foods such as eggs, sausages, bacon, ham, fruits, pastries, pancakes, waffles, cereals, and scones.
Customers select small portions from passing carts, as the kitchen continuously produces and sends out freshly prepared dishes.
In Italian, the English loanword 'brunch' is generally used, though the neologism/calque colanzo is increasingly popular, being derived from colazione (breakfast) and pranzo (lunch).
In both cases, brunch typically consists of the same dishes as would be standard in an American brunch, namely, coffee, tea, fruit juices, breakfast foods, including pancakes, waffles, and french toast; meats such as ham, bacon, and sausages; egg dishes such as scrambled eggs, omelettes, and eggs Benedict; bread products, such as toast, bagels or croissants; pastries or cakes, such as cinnamon rolls and coffee cake; and fresh cut fruit or fruit salad.
Contrary to what is observed in other countries, brunch in the afternoon, between 3:00 and 4:00 pm, is called merienda, a traditional snack carried over from Spanish colonialism.