dinner English · revision 2954

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1297|origins=la ieiunus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈdɪn.ə/, US /ˈdɪn.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|diner]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|disner|t=breakfast]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the infinitive [[m|fro|disner|t=to take the first meal of the day]] used as a noun,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[la-vul|*disieiunare|t=to break one's fast]], from [[m|la|dis-]] and [[la-lat|ieiūnāre|t=to fast]],^(Etymonline) from [[la|ieiūnus|t=fasting, hungry]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) See [[dine]]; it is related to [[jejune]] and to French déjeuner “lunch”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first big meal of the day, eaten between about 9 a.m. and noon: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 1297 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The Old French word meant “breakfast”, as did dinner in Middle English.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In English it has always been the main meal of the day, but that meal has moved later.^(Etymonline) Until the mid-18th century it was taken about midday, and the change to the evening began with the fashionable classes;^(Etymonline) in country districts early dinner long remained usual.^(Etymonline) ''Dinner time'' is from 1370,^(Barnhart 1988) ''dinner party'' by 1780 (Barnhart cites Jane Austen's ''Emma'', 1815),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''dinner jacket'' from 1852.^(Etymonline) The verb ''to dinner'' is from 1748.^(OED 1989) ''A dog's dinner'', a mess, is from the late 19th century, and ''dressed up like a dog's dinner'' from the 1930s.^(Cresswell 2021) The nursery word ''din-din'' is from 1905.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – the main meal of the day.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1370 – ''dinner time''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1748 – verb, to dine.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1780 – ''dinner party''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1852 – ''dinner jacket''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1905 – ''din-din''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A formal meal or [[banquet]] in honour of a person or event.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The food served at such a meal.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dinnerless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dine]]

+ * [[jejune]]

+ * [[diner]]

+ * [[supper]]

+ * [[lunch]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In many British dialects ''dinner'' is the midday meal, and the evening meal is ''tea'' or ''supper''.^(Etymonline)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}