A couple of days ago I got an e-mail from a friend that mostly talked about old car terms that we don’t hear much anymore, like the knob that a lot of people put on their steering wheel, continental kits and fender skirts. But somewhere in the mail he noted that the word supper isn’t used much anymore. Well, I got to thinking, when I grew up, it was always breakfast, dinner and supper. Now we have breakfast, lunch and dinner. I pretty much never use the word supper.
I thought the reason was probably regional — in Oklahoma, we used a lot of terms that people in the east had never heard of. I just figured that supper and dinner both referred to the evening meal… but after some extensive research, I discovered some interesting things.
The word dinner does not necessarily imply the time of day. It could mean the midday meal or the evening meal, but it always refers to the main meal of the day. The word dinner comes from the Vulgar Latin word disjējūnāre meaning “to break one’s fast.”
Supper is associated with the evening. It comes from the Old French word souper meaning “evening meal.” It has traditionally been used in the context of the last meal taken by Jesus before his crucifixion, known as the Last Supper.
It appears that most Americans use dinner and supper interchangeably. But the two words can also make a distinction between a light, informal late-evening meal eaten with family (supper) and a grander affair (dinner) — like a dinner party.
I don’t know why I found this topic interesting, but I did — not that it matters, supper or dinner was made for eating — not talking….
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