dîner

Pronunciation

• IPA: /di.ne/^[1]

Forms

dîner^[1] Old French disner; also digner, deigner; the spelling dîner dates from the 17th century.^[2][3][4][5] The noun dîner m (plural dîners) is the infinitive used as a noun.^[1][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French disner, inherited from Late Latin disieiūnō (“to break one's fast”), reduced by haplology to *disiūnō.^[2][6][4][7] The Latin verb is formed from dis- and iēiūnō (“to fast”), from iēiūnus (“fasting”).^[1] The same Latin verb gave déjeuner: “dîner” comes from the forms stressed on the ending (“disn-”), “déjeuner” from those stressed on the stem, Medieval Latin has “disnare” in the 9th century.^[6][2] The ⟨i⟩ is not well explained.^[2]

Cognate with Occitan dinar, Catalan dinar and Italian desinare.^[5] Littré reports older explanations from Ancient Greek δειπνέω (deipnéō, “to dine”) or from the grace “dignare, domine”, which he rejects.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Couronnement de Louis (about 1131) the knights ont disné in the morning: the verb first meant to take the first meal of the day.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

As mealtimes moved later, the main meal came to be taken at midday and dîner meant to eat it (1532, Rabelais), while déjeuner became a light morning meal.^[2][6] Before 1747 Lesage uses it for the evening meal, a use that spread in the 19th century at the expense of souper, which was kept for a late meal.^[2][6][3] The noun dîner (before 1150) followed the same course and means the evening meal from 1814.^[6]

In Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec dîner is still the midday meal, and souper the evening one.^[6][1] The proverb qui dort dîne means that sleep makes one forget hunger.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1131 – Disner “to breakfast”, Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• Before 1150 – The noun disner.^[6]
• 1532 – To take the midday meal, Rabelais.^[2]
• 17th century – The spelling dîner.^[3]
• Before 1747 – The evening meal, Lesage.^[2]
• 1814 – The noun “evening meal”.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To have dinner, to eat the evening meal: nous dînons à huit heures, dîner en ville.^[8][1]
2. (Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec; dated) To have lunch, the midday meal.^[8][6]
3. (obsolete) To take the first meal of the day.^[2][3]

Noun

1. Dinner, the evening meal; a dinner party: un dîner d'affaires, dîner aux chandelles.^[8][1]
2. (Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, Africa) Lunch, the midday meal.^[1][8]
3. The dishes served at this meal.^[8][6]

Word family

• dînette
• dînée
• dîneur
• dînatoire
• après-dîner

Related words

• déjeuner
• jeûner
• souper

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 94b
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert