TLFi

Étymol. et Hist. 1882 (Magali, Le Monde et la mode ds La Vie élégante, 15 nov. d'apr. Quem. DDL t. 1). Ell. de la loc. angl. five o'clock tea littéralement « thé de cinq heures » (1882, Fr. A. Kemble, Later Life II, 87 ds NED : My first introduction to ,,afternoon tea`` took place during this visit to Belvoir [in 1842] I do not believe that the now universally-honoured institution of ,,five o'clock tea`` dates further back than this) cf. la forme ell. 1960 (O. Manning, Great Fortune II, X, 115 ds NED Suppl.²).