Where does “dinner” come from?
Dinner comes from Old French disner, derived from Latin ieiunus meaning fasting or hungry, with the prefix dis- attached to a root from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁.
dinner (English): A midday meal; The main meal of the day, often...
Definitions
- A midday meal; The main meal of the day, often...
Ancestry of “dinner”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | dyner | lunch second meal of the day, eaten in the late morning |
| 2 | Old French | disner | to dine; to eat the main meal of the day; dinner |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | disiuno | — |
| 4 | Latin | disieiūnāre | — |
| 5 | Latin | iēiūnō | to fast |
| 6 | Latin | iēiūnus | fasting, abstinent, hungry |
| 7 | Latin | iaiūnus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | jagjūnos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | Hyeh₂ǵ-yu- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | Hyeh₂ǵ-ye/o- | to sacrifice |