A light meal or snack, especially lunch carried in a container. In Indian English, it refers to a packed lunch or the container used to carry it.
From Hindi टिफ़िन (ṭiffin), which itself was borrowed from English 'tiffing' meaning 'sipping' or taking a light drink. The word made a complete circle: English 'tiffing' → Hindi ṭiffin → back to Indian English with a new meaning of packed lunch. This transformation occurred during the British colonial period in the 19th century.
This word is a linguistic boomerang that traveled from English to Hindi and back to English with a completely different meaning! What started as British slang for 'sipping' became the Hindi word for lunch boxes, then returned to English as the famous 'tiffin carriers' of Mumbai.
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