different between snack vs tiffin

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /snæk/
• Rhymes: -æk

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch snacken (“to snack”).

Noun

snack (plural snacks)

1. A light meal.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:meal

2. An item of food eaten between meals.
3. (slang) A very sexy and attractive person.
   • 2008, Scott Sherman, First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery, Alyson Publications:

     Up close, he was a total snack. “That was pretty slick.” “Well.” He cocked his head, “I'm a pretty slick guy.” “I'm Kevin,” I said. “Romeo,” he put out his hand. “You're kidding.”

   • 2019, Loy A. Webb, The Light, Concord Theatricals (?ISBN), page 22:

     You were looking like a snack. I was looking like a snack. We were finally going to do what two snacks do... I immediately went into my routine. Covers on. Lights off. But you Mr. Tate...you softly grabbed my hand, kissed it, and turned the lights back on.

   • 2020, Gena Showalter, Prince of Stone, HQN Books (?ISBN):

     Her confusion amped up. But so did her attraction. He was a total snack.

Alternative forms

• (attractive person): snacc

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• munchies
• fast food
• takeaway

Verb

snack (third-person singular simple present snacks, present participle snacking, simple past and past participle snacked)

1. To eat a light meal.
2. To eat between meals.

Derived terms

• snack down

Translations

Etymology 2

See snatch (transitive verb). Ultimately of the same origin as the word under Etymology 1, but perhaps through a different source.

Noun

snack (plural snacks)

1. (obsolete) A share; a part or portion.

Verb

snack (third-person singular simple present snacks, present participle snacking, simple past and past participle snacked)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To snatch.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To bite.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To share.

Anagrams

• nacks

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English snack, from Middle Dutch snacken (from which snakken).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sn?k/

Noun

snack m (plural snacks, diminutive snackje n)

1. snack

Derived terms

• snackbar

Verb

snack

1. first-person singular present indicative of snacken
2. imperative of snacken

French

Etymology

From English snack, from Middle Dutch snacken.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /snak/

Noun

snack m (plural snacks)

1. snack bar

Synonyms

• snack-bar

Further reading

• “snack” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?snak/, [?znak]

• IPA^(key): /es?nak/, [ez?nak]

Noun

snack m (plural snacks)

1. snack

Swedish

Etymology

Nominalization of snacka (“to chat, to talk”).

Pronunciation

Noun

snack n (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) talk, speech

Declension

Related terms

• snacka

Derived terms

• snackis
• skitsnack
• snicksnack

English

Etymology

Apparently from English tiffing, present participle of tiff (“to take a small drink, to sip”) (slang).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?f?n/
• Hyphenation: tif?fin

Noun

tiffin (countable and uncountable, plural tiffins)

1. (Britain, India) A (light) midday meal or snack; luncheon.
2. (Britain, India) A container used to carry a tiffin; tiffin box, tiffin carrier, tiffin container.

Derived terms

• tiffin box
• tiffin carrier
• tiffin container

Descendants

• Chinese Pidgin English: tiffin

Verb

tiffin (third-person singular simple present tiffins, present participle tiffining, simple past and past participle tiffined)

1. (Britain, India, intransitive) To eat a (light) midday meal or snack.

Synonyms

• tiff

Chinese Pidgin English

Etymology

From English tiffin.

Noun

tiffin

1. luncheon

References

• Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 108: “Tiffin: (Indian) luncheon.”