How old is the word supper

It is somewhere about five or six o'clock in the afternoon, and a balmy fragrance of warm tea hovers in Cook's Court. It hovers about Snagsby's door. The hours are early there: dinner at half-past one and supper at half-past nine. Henry Baker," said Holmes when he had closed the door behind him. Are you hungry, Watson? Supper is at half-past seven.

We have given up late dinner for some time now. This distinction was used in the United States as well, particularly among farming communities in the Midwest and South, and the terms dinner and supper were treated distinctly in works by American writers into the 20th century:. After the ceremony at the church, the party went to a dinner given by the parents of the bride. The dinner lasted all afternoon; then it became a supper and continued far into the night.

Breakfast was our principal meal; midday dinner , except on Sundays, and supper were casual menus, often composed of leftovers from the morning. These breakfasts, served promptly at A.

In Christian theology, the term supper brings with it a suggestion of finality. The most famous supper, known as The Last Supper and immortalized in art by Leonardo da Vinci with that title, came when Jesus ate with his apostles before his crucifixion, laying the groundwork for the tradition of the Eucharist.

With limited artificial lightning, this meal was at midday so that the display of wealth could be more easily seen. The lower classes also ate at midday but with less pomp and ostentatious display. While not considered to be an actual meal, many of us have a snack noun or snack verb on something between meals.

Origins of English: Kinds of meat. Origins of English: Good and Evil. Origins of English: Politics and Government. Origins of English: Hindi Words. Origins of English: Coffin and Casket. Origins of English: Some Cat Expressions. Origins of English: Dunce.

Origins of English: Bimbo and Slut. Origins of English: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper. Ojibwa for Cranky Grammarians. Community This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication. Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions mentalfloss. BY Emily Petsko. Big Questions etymology Food language linguistics News Words. So we'd like to know which term you frequently heard in your household growing up, and which one you prefer to call the final meal of the day?

Just in case you were wondering, we're still pretty big on the word supper here at SL. Are Dinner and Supper the Same Thing? By Michelle Darrisaw. Save FB Tweet More. Family Dinner. The evening meal when dinner is taken at mid-day. A light meal served late in the evening.