tea vs tiffin

tea

noun
  • A light midafternoon meal, typically but not necessarily including tea. 

  • The break in play between the second and third sessions. 

  • The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water. 

  • Meat stock served as a hot drink. 

  • Any similar drink made by infusing parts of various other plants. 

  • Synonym of supper, the main evening meal, whether or not it includes tea. 

  • A moment, a historical unit of time from China, about the amount of time needed to quickly drink a traditional cup of tea. It is now found in Chinese-language historical fiction. 

  • A cup or (East Asia, Southern US) glass of any of these drinks, often with milk, sugar, lemon, and/or tapioca pearls. 

  • The tea plant (Camellia sinensis); (countable) a variety of this plant. 

  • The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant; (countable) a variety of such leaves. 

  • Information, especially gossip. 

verb
  • To take afternoon tea (the light meal). 

  • To drink tea. 

  • To give tea. 

tiffin

noun
  • A (light) midday meal or snack; luncheon. 

  • A box or container used to carry a tiffin. 

  • A cake-like confection composed of crushed biscuits, sugar, syrup, raisins, cherries and cocoa powder, often covered with a layer of melted chocolate. 

verb
  • To eat a (light) midday meal or snack. 

How often have the words tea and tiffin occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )