Let's go a-suppering!

Returning from a three-day family reunion at Percy Quin State Park in southern Mississippi has given me pause to cogitate upon the important aspects of life, specifically food and the social aspect of sharing food.  My father at supper—our evening meal (as opposed to dinner, the afternoon meal)--used to cause my mother great agitation when musing upon the next day’s menu before we had completely enjoyed the current supper. These days, we tend to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but what has happened to supper?  I pulled out my trusty OED to investigate the distinctions between lunch and dinner as the afternoon meal, as opposed to dinner and supper as the evening meal.

As mentioned above, growing up in the South, we ate dinner at midday and supper at night.  The OED defines “dinner” as “the chief meal of the day,” eaten by most at midday, with examples going back to the 13^th century.  As centuries passed, the “professional and fashionable classes” began to eat “dinner in the evening.”  “Dinner” took on the additional meaning of a “formally arranged meal of various courses” or a public meal to honor someone.  This past Sunday, the Baptist church we attended at the reunion kicked off their Revival with “dinner on the grounds,” a potluck meal served after the morning service.  However, when my husband retired this past December, his colleagues feted him with a “retirement dinner,” formally arranged and held at night at a local restaurant.

The OED defines “supper” as “the last meal of the day” and also as “such a meal made the occasion of a social or festive gathering.” (The word comes from the Old French souper.)  However, in recent years, I do not recall hearing of occasions such as a “retirement supper.”  Please feel free to weigh in with recent instances of festive occasion suppers!  The first example which the OED gives comes from the 13^th century and references the “passion of our Lord.”  The second definition for “supper” which the OED gives specifically refers to “the Last Supper,” the last meal of Jesus which also involved the establishment of the Eucharist.  “Supper,” therefore, has Christian connotations to it.

So how does lunch fit into the terminology?  “Lunch” is actually a shortened version of “luncheon,” which originated as referring to a snack of sorts between “breakfast and mid-day dinner.”  The word “lunch” in its early usage was considered “vulgar.”  (See my blog dated 24 March 2013.)  It is also considered a “light meal at any time of day.”

Given all of this information, I still prefer to eat dinner at midday and supper at night.  The OED does define “suppering” as “the providing or eating of supper; the entertainment of guests at supper,” so I will end this blog entry with this wish:  Sweet suppering!