Why Do People in the South Call Lunch ‘Dinner’ and Dinner ‘Supper’? (2024)

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Why Do People in the South Call Lunch ‘Dinner’ and Dinner ‘Supper’? ›

Back then, the heavy noon meal was known as "dinner" and the light evening meal was called "supper." It makes sense that in the south, where a large percentage of the population farmed, we referred to the meal we ate at night as "supper." (That's also a reason Thanksgiving and Christmas meals are typically called " ...

And on NPR, food historian Helen Zoe Veit points out that in the past, especially in farming communities, the noon meal was the biggest one of the day. Which would explain why, in certain parts of the south, the word 'dinner' has persisted as a reference to the noon, rather than evening, meal.

If you grew up in the South, chances are your attachment to either "supper" or "dinner" has more to do with who cooked for you, rather than the time of day you sat down to eat. For example, you probably heard, "supper's ready," just before your Mama or Grandmama placed a tableful of delicious dishes before you.

In the southern U.S. the word “supper” is often used for the evening meal.

With more and more people working factory jobs outside of the home, the practice of eating the main meal during the day became less and less common. Instead, people started to shift their main meals to the evening during the 20th century. It became more common to use the word dinner to describe the evening meal.

The distinction between dinner and supper was common in North American farming communities into the 20th century, especially in the Midwest and the American South, though today, most Americans consider the two synonyms and strongly prefer the term dinner for the evening meal.

Speaking of food, occasional confusion arises when Texans refer to “dinner” and “supper.” These are interchangeable in other parts of the country, but around here, “dinner” can mean lunch, but “supper” almost always refers to the evening meal. Other examples of Lone Star speak are evident in the pronunciation of words.

For a long time, that main meal was held during the middle part of the day, around or slightly after the time we would nowadays allot for lunch. What was then called supper was a lighter meal taken toward the end of the day.

Breakfast is often called 'the most important meal of the day', and for good reason. As the name suggests, breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period.

Linner/Lupper/Dunch/Dinch –- Not in general use. Linner is a late lunch or almost dinner meal. The name comes in reference to brunch, being a combination of the words "lunch" and "dinner" or "supper." Dunch comes in reference to brunch, being a combination of "dinner and "lunch." An alternate historical term is Russin.

What is the evening meal called in the south? ›

Across the US, many people use dinner and supper interchangeably to describe the evening meal. There are a few remaining places, mostly in the Midwest and South, where supper is still the favoured term.

Supper is more specifically a lighter evening meal. Rooted in the word 'to sup,' it comes from farming traditions. Many farming families would have a pot of soup cooking throughout the day and would eat it in the evening – specifically, they would 'sup' the soup.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the etymology of lunch is uncertain. It may have evolved from lump in a similar way to hunch, a derivative of hump, and bunch, a derivative of bump. Alternatively, it may have evolved from the Spanish lonja, meaning 'slice of ham'.

Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, it gradually migrated to later in the day over the 16th to 19th centuries. The word has different meanings depending on culture, and may mean a meal of any size eaten at any time of day.

In the old days, farm work was a very vigorous activity, and required a lot of energy rich food to keep you going. The mid-day meal was expected to carry your energy through to the evening meal, so it was the largest meal of the day, hence, the dinner.

The main meal in the 1800s, however, was not the large evening meal that is familiar to us today. Rather, it was a meal called dinner, enjoyed in the early afternoon. Supper was a smaller meal eaten in the evening.

It goes back in history. We didn't always eat three meals and in the past, it was more common to call lunch “dinner” and the night meal “supper”. I am sure everyone has heard of “The Last Supper”.

The word “dinner” comes from the Old French word “disnar”, which in fact means “breakfast”. The term breakfast means 'break fast', that is, start eating after not eating for a long time. lunch(n.) "mid-day repast," 1786, shortened form of luncheon (q.v.).

When the word lunch became popular in the 1800s, it was sometimes considered vulgar, in the sense of low class. Lunch eventually became the more common term for the meal, luncheon being reserved for more formal usage. The word luncheon has come a long way, from “lump” of food to what may be a lavish meal.