A linguist might be able to judge the general region you ’re from based solely on what you call your evening meal . But as an article fromWide Open Eatsexplains , it is n’t just a matter of idiom . Dinnerandsupperreally do mean unlike things — or at least they used to .
Historically , the worddinnerwas colligate with the largest repast of the day , regardless of whether it was serve in the morning , afternoon , or evening . The full term comes from the non - Classical Latin worddisjējūnāre , which is defined as breaking a fast .
Supper , on the other hand , is more time - specific . It stems from the Old French wordsouper , meaning an even meal , and it ’s by and large light than other meals served throughout the day . In other words , supperanddinnerhave more to do with the quantity of nutrient that ’s served than the clip of day that you feed on them .
In the 1800s and perhaps even earlier , Americans in some rural regions begin calling their noon mealdinner , whilesupperwas reserved for the evening meal . This had more to do with occupation than location , though . In parts of the South and Midwest where farmers need ample fuel to get them through the day , the midday repast was larger ( hence the use of the termdinner ) . In the evening , suppertypically involve a light soup , and the act of corrode it was referred to assupping . Indeed , the wordsupperis link tosuppe , the German Holy Writ for soup .
This is still the average in some portion of the U.S. As all-embracing out-of-doors Eats discovered through Google Trends , a search for “ supper ” is most rough-cut in Wisconsin , South Dakota , North Dakota , Minnesota , and Iowa .
This is also the example in some parts of the South . “ If you arise up in the South post - colonial geological era , however , chances are your tie-up with the words have more to do with colloquial etymology , rather than the metre of twenty-four hour period you sat down to eat,”Southern Livingnotes . “ For example , you probably heard , ' supper ’s ready , ' just before Mama or Grandma set a board - full of delicious dishes before you . ”
However , supperis rarely used any longer — especially among immature generations — anddinneris by far the more democratic term across the country .
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