sandwich

Where does the word "sandwich" come from? It comes from Old English Sandwīc, and was adopted directly into English (1762).

Sandwich’s story begins in Old English: Sandwīc meant “a Kent town.” 'sandy harbour', a Kent port that became one of the Cinque Ports supplying ships to the crown. It reached English by 1762 as sandwich. Named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich; Edward Gibbon's journal for 24 November 1762 records gentlemen at a London club eating 'a bit of cold meat, or a Sandwich', while the story that the earl ate them at the gambling table comes from a 1765 French travel book and may be gossip. Today, sandwich means two pieces of bread with a filling between them.

1. Stage 1 · Old English · medieval Sandwīc "a Kent town", 'sandy harbour', a Kent port that became one of the Cinque Ports supplying ships to the crown.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1762 sandwich "meat between slices of bread", named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich; Edward Gibbon's journal for 24 November 1762 records gentlemen at a London club eating 'a bit of cold meat, or a Sandwich', while the story that the earl ate them at the gambling table comes from a 1765 French travel book and may be gossip.