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Origin and history of junket

junket(n.)

late 14c., jonket, "basket in which fish are caught or carried," from Medieval Latin iuncata "rush basket," perhaps from Latin iuncus "rush" (see jonquil). The English word shifted meaning by 1520s to "feast, banquet," probably via the notion of a picnic basket; this led to extended sense of "pleasure trip" (1814), and then to "tour by government official at public expense for no discernible public benefit" (by 1886, American English).

Compare Italian cognate giuncata "cream cheese-like dish" (so called because originally made or served on a bed of rushes); Middle English jonket also had this sense, which survived longer in dialects. Johnson (1755) also records a verb junket "to feast secretly; to make entertainments by stealth."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to junket

jonquil(n.)

1660s, species of narcissus, from French jonquille (17c.), from Spanish junquillo, diminutive of junco "rush, reed," from Latin iuncus "reed, rush," from Proto-Italic *joiniko-, from PIE *ioi-ni- (cognates: Middle Irish ain "reeds, rushes," Old Norse einir, Swedish en "juniper"). So called in reference to the form of its leaves.

From 1791 as the name of a pale yellow color, like that of the flower, and thus a type of canary bird (1865) of that color.

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    Trends of junket

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    feast
    c. 1200, "secular celebration with feasting and entertainment" (often held on a church holiday); c. 1300, "religious anniversary characterized by rejoicing" (rather than fasting), from Old French feste "religious festival, holy day; holiday; market, fair; noise, racket; jest, fun
    banquet
    late 15c., "feast, sumptuous entertainment," from Old French banquet "feast," earlier simply "small bench," from Old Italian banchetto, diminutive of banco "bench," variant of banca "bench," which is from a Germanic source (see bench (n.)). Apparently, etymologically, "a snack ea
    host
    "person who receives guests," especially for pay, late 13c., from Old French oste, hoste "guest, host, hostess, landlord" (12c., Modern French hôte), from Latin hospitem (nominative hospes) "guest, stranger, sojourner, visitor (hence also 'foreigner')," also "host; one bound by t
    sweet
    Old English swete, Mercian swoete, "pleasing to the senses, mind or feelings; having a pleasant disposition," from Proto-Germanic *swotja- (source also of Old Saxon swoti, Old Frisian swet, Swedish söt, Danish sød, Middle Dutch soete, Dutch zoet, Old High German swuozi, German sü
    sashay
    1836, "perform a gliding step in dancing," a mangled Englishing of French chassé "gliding step" (in ballet), literally "chased," past participle of chasser "to chase," from Old French chacier "to hunt" (see chase (v.)).  Also compare catch, and for spelling see sash (n.2). H
    travel
    late 14c., "to journey," from travailen (1300) "to make a journey," originally "to toil, labor" (see travail). The semantic development may have been via the notion of "go on a difficult journey," but it also may reflect the difficulty of any journey in the Middle Ages. Replaced
    jaunt
    1670s in modern sense of "short pleasure trip," earlier "tiresome journey" (1590s), from jaunt (v.)...."tire (a horse) by riding back and forth on it, ride hard," 1560s, of unknown origin, "the word being confused with other words of similar or related meanings" [Century Dictiona
    junta
    1620s, "Spanish legislative council," from Spanish and Portuguese junta "council, meeting, convention," from Medieval Latin iuncta "joint," from Latin iuncta, fem. past participle of iungere "to join together," from nasalized form of PIE root *yeug- "to join." Meaning "political
    journey
    c. 1200, "a defined course of traveling; one's path in life," from Old French journée "a day's length; day's work or travel" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *diurnum "day," noun use of neuter of Latin diurnus "of one day" (from dies "day," from PIE root *dyeu- "to shine"). The French f

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