Refreshment

Refreshment

Noun · /rɪˈfreʃmənt/ · the action of giving new strength or energy; food and drink that restores vitality

Definition

Refreshment is the act of restoring energy, strength, or enthusiasm — and the food, drink, or rest that achieves it. You take refreshment at a break in a long meeting. You offer refreshments at an event. A cool breeze provides refreshment on a hot day. The word captures both the thing that restores and the feeling of being restored. It is warm, social, and pleasantly practical.

Origin

From Old French refreschir — re- (again) + fres (fresh). To refresh is to make fresh again. The word entered English in the 14th century as a verb, and the noun refreshment followed shortly after. The core idea has always been renewal — taking something that has become stale, depleted, or tired, and restoring it to a fresher state. A refreshed page. A refreshed perspective. A refreshed person.