Etymology

break bread

Today it means: To eat a meal, especially to eat a shared meal with friends, family, guests, etc.; to be in fellowship with others by eating with them. Full definition →

Middle English breken bred
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited frombreken bred
  2. English todaybreak bread

Inherited from Middle English breken bred; under medieval conditions, guests brought their own knives worn with them, which were their daggers they hunted and gathered with, then only fit to cut meat. From the expression “break bread with friends” the ellipsis “break bread” implying community developed.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.