Dinner vs. Supper: Is there a difference? | Merriam-Webster A clue to the historical role of supper is given in its etymology Both supper and dinner have closely related verbs in English: sup and dine Dinner derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb disner, meaning “to dine ” The comparable etymon for supper is the Anglo-French super, meaning “to sup,” related to supe, the noun for
Supper - Wikipedia Supper was originally a secondary lighter evening meal The main meal of the day, called dinner, used to be served closer to what is known as lunchtime, around the middle of the day, but crept later over the centuries, mostly over the course of the 19th century