1847.—"'Come home and have some tiffin, Dobbin,' a voice cried behind him, as a pudgy hand was laid on his shoulder.... But the Captain had no heart to go a-feasting with Joe Sedley."—Vanity Fair, ed. 1867, i. 235.
1850.—"A vulgar man who enjoys a champagne tiffin and swindles his servants ... may be a pleasant companion to those who do not hold him in contempt as a vulgar knave, but he is not a gentleman."—Sir C. Napier, Farewell Address.
1853.—"This was the case for the prosecution. The court now adjourned for tiffin."—Oakfield, i. 319.
1882.—"The last and most vulgar form of 'nobbling' the press is well known as the luncheon or tiffin trick. It used to be confined to advertising tradesmen and hotel-keepers, and was practised on newspaper reporters. Now it has been practised on a loftier scale...."—Saty. Rev., March 25, 357.
TO TIFF, in the Indian sense.
1803.—"He hesitated, and we were interrupted by a summons to tiff at Floyer's. After tiffin Close said he should be glad to go."—Elphinstone, in Life, i. 116.
1814.—"We found a pool of excellent water, which is scarce on the hills, and laid down to tiff on a full soft bed, made by the grass of last year and this. After tiffing, I was cold and unwell."—Ibid. p. 283. Tiffing here is a participle, but its use shows how the noun tiffin would be originally formed.
1816.—
"The huntsman now informed them all
They were to tiff at Bobb'ry Hall.