Has 'supper' always meant 'dinner?' - Merriam-Webster

Dinner and supper are both used to refer to the main meal of the day, and especially to that meal as eaten in the evening. Supper is used ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut WordHistory Has‘supper’alwaysmeant‘dinner?' Theansweriswaitingforyouanditisstillhot. WhattoKnow Dinnerandsupperarebothusedtorefertothemainmealoftheday,andespeciallytothatmealaseatenintheevening.Supperisusedespeciallywhenthemealisaninformaloneeatenathome,whiledinnertendstobethetermchosenwhenthemealismoreformal.InsomedialectsandespeciallyinBritishEnglish,suppercanalsorefertoalightmealorsnackthatiseatenlateintheevening. Whatdoyoucallthemealthatyoueatattheendoftheday?Doyoucallitdinnerorsupper?Youranswermightdependonwhereyougrewuporhowoldyouare.Thewordshaveshiftedinmeaningasdininghabitshavechanged. Andnowontothemaincourse... Acontemporaryrestaurant,forexample,mightindicateitsdinnerhoursaslateintheafternoonorduringtheevening: ElJardínwillbeopenfordinnernightlyfrom5p.m.to10p.m.Abarmenuwillbeofferedfrom4p.m.to5p.m.MondaythroughFridayand3p.m.to5p.m. —CandiceWoo,EaterSanDiego,28June2018 Thesamerestaurantmightservelunchduringthehoursof11:00amto2pm,oradjustthosehoursforwhatitcallsbrunchontheweekend. DistinctionBetweenDinnerandSupper Buttheuseofdinnertorefertothemainmealoftheday,eatenasthelastmealoftheday,isarelativelyrecentphenomenon.Foralongtime,thatmainmealwasheldduringthemiddlepartoftheday,aroundorslightlyafterthetimewewouldnowadaysallotforlunch.Whatwasthencalledsupperwasalightermealtakentowardtheendoftheday. Ifyouhavereadtheclassicchildren’sbookWheretheWildThingsArebyMauriceSendak,you’llrecallthatMaxissenttobedwithoutanysupperformisbehaving.Ifyouinterpretsupperas"dinner,"youmightbeleftwiththeimpressionthatMaxhasbeencruellylefttogohungry,butinalllikelihoodhehadalreadyeatenhisday’smainmeal.WhenhereturnsfromhisrumpuswiththeWildThings,thatsupperiswaitingforhiminhisroomanditisstillhot. ManyBritishwritersofthe18thand19thcenturiesmadedistinctionsbetweendinnerandsuppermuchthewaywemighttodayforlunchanddinner. Whethermylordusedtomakehimselfuneasyforwantofmineorothercompany,Icannottell,buttheservantscomplainedeveryday,asIheardbyAmy,thathislordshipatelittleornothing,andwouldsometimesshedtearswhenhesatdownbyhimselftobreakfast,dinner,orsupper;and,indeed,Ibegantothinkthathelookedverythin,hiscountenancegrewpale,andthathehadeveryothersignofagrievedorbrokenheart. —DanielDefoe,TheFortunateMistress,1724 Itissomewhereaboutfiveorsixo'clockintheafternoon,andabalmyfragranceofwarmteahoversinCook'sCourt.IthoversaboutSnagsby'sdoor.Thehoursareearlythere:dinnerathalf-pastoneandsupperathalf-pastnine. —CharlesDickens,BleakHouse,1853 "SomuchforMr.HenryBaker,"saidHolmeswhenhehadclosedthedoorbehindhim."Itisquitecertainthatheknowsnothingwhateveraboutthematter.Areyouhungry,Watson?" "Notparticularly." "ThenIsuggestthatweturnourdinnerintoasupperandfollowupthiscluewhileitisstillhot." "Byallmeans." —ArthurConanDoyle,“TheAdventureoftheBlueCarbuncle,”1892 “Johnwillshowyouyourroom.Supperisathalf-pastseven.Wehavegivenuplatedinnerforsometimenow.” —AgathaChristie,TheMysteriousAffairatStyles,1920 ThisdistinctionwasusedintheUnitedStatesaswell,particularlyamongfarmingcommunitiesintheMidwestandSouth,andthetermsdinnerandsupperweretreateddistinctlyinworksbyAmericanwritersintothe20thcentury: Aftertheceremonyatthechurch,thepartywenttoadinnergivenbytheparentsofthebride.Thedinnerlastedallafternoon;thenitbecameasupperandcontinuedfarintothenight. —WillaCather,MyAntonia,1918 Breakfastwasourprincipalmeal;middaydinner,exceptonSundays,andsupperwerecasualmenus,oftencomposedofleftoversfromthemorning.Thesebreakfasts,servedpromptlyat5:30A.M.,wereregularstomachswellers. —TrumanCapote,“TheThanksgivingVisitor,”1967 TheLastSupper InChristiantheology,thetermsupperbringswithitasuggestionoffinality.Themostfamoussupper,knownasTheLastSupperandimmortalizedinartbyLeonardodaVinciwiththattitle,camewhenJesusatewithhisapostlesbeforehiscrucifixion,layingthegroundworkforthetraditionoftheEucharist. Likewisealsothecupaftersupper,saying,Thiscupisthenewtestamentinmyblood,whichisshedforyou.—KJVLuke22:20 Andsupperbeingended,thedevilhavingnowputintotheheartofJudasIscariot,Simon'sson,tobetrayhim;...—KJVJohn13:2 HowDinnerBecameSupper Acluetothehistoricalroleofsupperisgiveninitsetymology.BothsupperanddinnerhavecloselyrelatedverbsinEnglish:supanddine.DinnerderivesviaMiddleEnglishfromtheAnglo-Frenchverbdisner,meaning“todine.”ThecomparableetymonforsupperistheAnglo-Frenchsuper,meaning“tosup,”relatedtosupe,thenounfor“soup.”Thetypicalmealpreparedforsupperwassomethingofalightrepastakintosoup—perhapssomethingthatcouldbelefttosimmeronthestovethroughouttheday. Sowhatchangedtomaketheeveninghourthedinnerhour?People’sdailyschedules,foronething.AshistorianHelenZoeVeitnotesatNPR.org,withtheriseofindustrialization,moreAmericansbeganworkingoutsidethehomeandcouldn’treturntoeattheirmainmealinthemiddleoftheday. Sowhatwasknownasdinnergotshiftedtotheevening,whenthoseworkersreturnedhome,andweadoptedlunchforthelightmiddaymealinitsstead.Wemostlikelygetthewordlunchasashortformofluncheon,andluncheonasanalterationofnuncheon,referringtoalightsnack.Thatword’shistorypinsittoitshouroftakingplace.TheMiddleEnglishnonshench,usedforamiddayrefreshment,wasformedfromnon,meaning“noon,”andschench,meaning“drink.” Itislogical,then,thatspeakersofcertaingenerations,usedtoreferringtosupperasaday’slastmeal,carriedthatwordoverforthemainmealofthedaytakenintheevening,therebyleadingtoitsconflationwithdinner. Now,wehopeyousavedsomeroomfordessert. MORETOEXPLORE:WordsWeDon'tHearAnymore Share MoreWordsAtPlay You're(Probably)SayingItWrong 18wordsevenyoumightbemispronouncing RareandAmusingInsults Sometimesa'cacafuego'canbeareal'slubberdegullion' TheVocabularyTestFromHell Studentsin1915knewthesewords.Doyou? WhenWereWordsFirstUsed? 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