Difference Between Supper and Dinner

Dinner was originally used to indicate the main meal of the day, while supper referred to a lighter meal eaten later. Today, dinner refers to the evening meal, ... HomeGrammar Suppervs.Dinner:WhyThey’reNotReallytheSame Suppervs.Dinner:WhyThey’reNotReallytheSame Nothingbeatsahotmealattheendoftheday,butdependingonwhereyoulive,youmighthearthatmealreferredtoasdinnerorsupper.Dinnerwasoriginallyusedtoindicatethemainmealoftheday,whilesupperreferredtoalightermealeatenlater.Today,dinnerreferstotheeveningmeal,whilesuppermayrefertolighterormoreinformalmeals.Knowingthedifferenceensuresthatyougetfed. SpaghettiWithSuppervsdinnerDefinitions Advertisement TheDifferenceBetweenDinnerandSupperAlthoughsomepeopleusethemsynonymously,dinnerandsuppercanhavetheirdifferencesdependingongenerationandregion,especiallyinEngland,Canada,andtheMidwesternandSouthernU.S.   Dinner Supper Timeofday Universallyintheeveningbutsometimesinthemidday Lateeveningmealwhendinnerismidday Size Largermainmeal Lightmeal Formality Formal,includingorganizedevents Casual Location Athome,atarestaurantorinaneventspace Athome Suppervs.Dinner:HistoricalContextTheworddinnerhaslongbeenusedintheEnglishlanguagetorefertothemainmealoftheday.Duringthe18thand19thcenturies,themainmealofthedaywasusuallyservedmidday,aroundnoon-time,butinthe1300s,themainmealcouldbeasearlyas9:00a.m.Asaresult,thisearlytomiddaymealwascommonlyreferredtoasdinner. SupperOriginStoryPeoplewhoatealargedinnerinthemiddleofthedaywouldtypicallyeatamuchsmallerandlightermealintheevening.Thismealwasreferredtoassupper,fromtheOldFrenchtermsoper,meaning“aneveningmeal.”Dininghabitschangedduringthe20thcentury,largelyduetotheshiftawayfromanagrarianeconomybroughtonbytheIndustrialRevolution. TheShifttoDinnerWithmoreandmorepeopleworkingfactoryjobsoutsideofthehome,thepracticeofeatingthemainmealduringthedaybecamelessandlesscommon.Instead,peoplestartedtoshifttheirmainmealstotheeveningduringthe20thcentury. Itbecamemorecommontousetheworddinnertodescribetheeveningmeal.Thewordlunchbecamethepreferredwordforanoontimemeal. ASynonymStory:TwoWords,OneMealThetermsupperbecamemuchlesscommonastheIndustrialRevolutionworeon,buttheworddidnotbecomeobsolete.InmostpartsoftheU.S.andCanada,forexample,thewordsdinnerandsupperareconsideredsynonymsforoneanother.Insomeplaces,thetermsupperisstillthepreferredtermfortheeveningmeal,evenifitisconsumedasthemainmealoftheday. Advertisement MainMealTerminology:GenerationalDifferencesWhilepeopleoftentendtorelatethetermsupperwithcertainregions,thisterminologyisreallymorebasedongenerationthanregion.Thosewhowereraisedinfamilieswheretheirparentsorgrandparentspickeduplastingspeechpatternsfromtheirfamily'selders,thenpassedonthosepatternstotheyoungergenerations,aremorelikelytohavebeenexposedtothewordsupperthanothers. TheplaceswheresupperremainsincommonusearealsoamongthelasttoseeasignificantimpactfromtheIndustrialRevolution,meaningittooklongerfordininghabitstochange.Thesearealsoareaswherethereisastronghistoryofcolloquialterminologybeingpassedforwardovermultiplegenerations.Considerwhereyouarewhendecidingwhichtermislikelytobemostappropriate. Suppervs.DinnerintheSouthSupperremainedincommonusethroughouttheSouthernUnitedStateslongaftertheeveningmealbecamethemainmealoftheday.Overtime,habitschangedandthetermdinneralsobecamecommon.Inthe21stcentury,supperhasbeenlargelyreplacedbydinner,butsomeSouthernersdostillregularlyusethewordastheywereinitiallyintended. Suppervs.DinnerinCanadaInmostpartsofCanada,thewordsupperreferstotheeveningmeal.TheworddinneriscommonlyusedfortheeveningmealinBritishColumbiaandthesouthernpartofOntario.EverywhereinCanada,thepreferredterminologyseemstobesupper.InCanada'sprairieregion,theworddinnerisusedtorefertothemiddaymeal.ElsewhereinCanada,themiddaymealiscalledlunch,regardlessofwhattermisusedfortheeveningmeal. Advertisement Suppervs.Dinnervs.TeainEngland  TheEnglishincludethewordteatorefertotheireveningmeals.Whiledinnerremainsthemorecommonlyusedword,overathirdofEnglandersusetea,especiallythoselivinginthenorth.Supperissometimesusedfortheeveningmeal,butnotnearlyasoftenasteaordinner. ThemostcommonusageofsupperinEnglandisinreferencetoalighteveningsnackseatedafterteaordinnerhasalreadybeenconsumed.Forexample,asmallmealjustbeforebedtimemightbecalledsupper. OffToBedWithoutYourSupperTheshiftfromdinnertosupperisaninterestingcross-sectionofAmericanhistoryandregionalisms.Knowingthedifferenceensuresthatyouknowwhentowearatieandhowmuchfoodtoexpect. 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