menu English · revision 6723

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1837|origins=la minuo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɛn.juː/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɛn.ju/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|menu|t=detailed list]], short for menu de repas, list of the meal,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the noun use of [[m|fr|menu|t=small, detailed]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|minūtus|t=small]], the past participle of [[m|la|minuo|alt=minuere|t=to diminish]] (see [[minute]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of minute in the sense small.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A detailed list of the dishes to be served at a meal: 1837,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) 1830 in MWU.^(MWU 2024) The OED records a single earlier use, in 1658, for the common people, short for French menu peuple.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Any detailed list is a transferred sense first recorded in 1889.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The computing sense, a list of options displayed on a screen, is from 1967,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and ''menu-driven'' from 1979.^(OED 1989) The AHD notes that an enormous menu would be a contradiction if one followed the etymology, since the Latin source meant small and detailed.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1658 – the common people (once).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1837 – a bill of fare.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1889 – any detailed list.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1967 – a computer menu.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A list of the dishes available in a [[restaurant]] or served at a meal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

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

+ # ''(computing)'' A list of options shown on a screen.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[minute]]

+ * [[minus]]

+ * [[minor]]

+ * [[diminish]]

+ * [[minutia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}