English
dinner
Dinner comes from Old French disner ‘to dine’, from Vulgar Latin *disiūnō ‘to break the fast’, from dis- + iēiūnō ‘to fast’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEieiūnus‘fasting, hungry’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEiēiūnō‘to fast’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*disiūnō‘to break the fast’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400disner‘to dine; main meal of the day’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dyner
- Englishearliest quotation 1892dinner
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEieiūnus‘fasting, hungry’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEiēiūnō‘to fast’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*disiūnō‘to break the fast’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400disner‘to dine; main meal of the day’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dyner
- Englishearliest quotation 1892dinner
Earliest quotation: 1892, Walter Besant, In the Office: “At twilight in the summer[…]the mice come out. They[…]eat…”
Linked words
through Old French disner ‘lunch”, but originally “breakfast’
Today it means
noun The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ieiūnus / dinner