Are Dinner and Supper the Same Thing? - Southern Living

First, let's define both terms. Merriam-Webster establishes dinner as "the principal meal of the day." Supper, on the other hand, has three definitions:. SouthernLivingCultureandLifestyleAreDinnerandSuppertheSameThing?AreDinnerandSuppertheSameThing?DependsonwhichSoutherngenerationyouask.MichelleDarrisawByMichelleDarrisawAdvertisementFBTweetMorePinterestEmailSendTextMessagePrintFamilyDinnerCredit:Stockbyte/GettyImagesDinnerandsupper.Twosimplewordsoftenusedinterchangeablytodescribethegeneralsettingofthelastmealoftheday.But,thetwotermscouldn'tbemoredifferent,bothinoriginandmeaning.Justasimportant,though,isthefactthatwhicheverwordtakesprecedenceinyourfoodlexiconmayexplainmoreaboutwhichsideofthegenerationalfenceyoustraddle.First,let'sdefinebothterms.Merriam-Websterestablishesdinneras"theprincipalmealoftheday."Supper,ontheotherhand,hasthreedefinitions:Theeveningmealwhendinneristakenatmid-day.Alightmealservedlateintheevening.Aneveningsocialespeciallyforraisingfunds.(think:achurchsupperorsocialsupper).Inotherwords,whatwerefertoasthelunchhourtodaywasactuallyreservedfordinner.Whereassupper,traditionallyspeaking,wasthoughtofasalightmealfollowingdinner.IfyougrewupintheSouthpost-colonialera,however,chancesareyourassociationwiththewordshavemoretodowithcolloquialetymology,ratherthanthetimeofdayyousatdowntoeat.Forexample,youprobablyheard,"supper'sready," justbeforeMamaorGrandmaplacedatable-fullofdeliciousdishesbeforeyou.Becausebackthen,familieswouldsitdowntogethertoenjoysupper—notdinner—whetheritwasatnoonor6o'clockintheevening.Today,particularlyamongtheyoungergeneration,notsomuch.Nowyou'remorelikelytohearpeopleask,"what'sfordinner?"Thereinliesthegreatgenerationaldivide.Beyondregionalandagedifferences,though,wecanalsotracethederivationofbothwordsbacktotheAmericancolonialperiod.Between1600and1776,theSouthreliedheavilyonagricultureandfarming.Assuch,manyfarmersweretoobusytoeatthreemealsaday,andmostoftenjustatebreakfastanddinner,withthelatterservingasthebiggestfeastoftheday.TheEnglishLanguage&UsageStackExchange,aforumforlinguisticenthusiasts,suggeststhatfarmers"atelargermealsatnoontimetogivethemthestrengthtokeepworkingthroughtheafternoon."Iftheywerestillhungryoncetheyreturnedhomefromworkingonthefarmallday,theywouldeatalightsupperintheformofsoup.ThismakesperfectsensewhenyouthinkoftheMerriamdefinitionofsupperanditsrootword.Supperstemsfromtheword"sup,"andit'salsorelatedtotheGermanwordforsoup("suppe").AccordingtotheEnglishLanguage&UsageStackExchange,familieswouldputonapotofsouptosimmerthroughoutthedayandeatitlaterintheevening,whichwasalsoknownas"supping"thehotsoup.FoodhistorianHelenZoeVeitseemedtoechothatsamesentimentinaninterviewwithNPR,whereshediscussedhowmanymealsAmericansactuallyconsumedinthe18thandearly19thcenturies.Americansregularlyatealightsupperastheireveningmealbecausetheywereeatingdinner—thebiggestmealoftheday—aroundnoon,"saidZoeVeit.AccordingtoZoeVeit,thistrendstartedtochangewhen"moreAmericanswereworkingoutsideofthehomeandfarm,sotheycouldn'treadilyreturnhometocookandeatinthemiddleoftheday."Thiscouldexplainwhy,inrecenttimes, theworddinnerforyoungworkingprofessionalsisreferredtoasthelastmealoftheday,andlunchis,well,thenewversionofsupper—onlyeatenearlierintheday.WATCH:7TipstoHelpYouGetDinnerontheTableFasterSowe'dliketoknowwhichtermyoufrequentlyheardinyourhouseholdgrowingup,andwhichoneyouprefertocallthefinalmealoftheday?Justincaseyouwerewondering,we'restillprettybigonthewordsupperhereatSL.ClosethisdialogwindowShare&More©CopyrightSouthernLiving.Allrightsreserved.Printedfromhttps://www.southernliving.comCloseSigninClosethisdialogwindowViewimageAreDinnerandSuppertheSameThing?thislinkistoanexternalsitethatmayormaynotmeetaccessibilityguidelines.