Dinner vs. Supper

[rookiegirl]

What's the difference between dinner and supper?  Do they mean the same? Does it depends on geographical location?

What do you call it?  I've always said DINNER.

 

[Ohio Buckeye]

As I grew up at home it was always supper.
Seems like sometime not too long ago actually it became dinner.

[kitkatz]

Dinner here

But when I was in the south lunch was dinner and dinner was supper...Huh?

[rookiegirl]

This is what I found while searching the web for the difference.

Dictionary.com Word FAQs
Dictionary.com » Word FAQs » Differences

What is the difference between dinner and supper?
Supper is a light evening meal - served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening after an early-evening dinner. Either way, it is regarded as the last meal of the day. Dinner is the main meal of the day, served either in the evening or at midday. However, in certain regions of the US (New England in particular), the words are used interchangeably for the main evening meal. Supper is the older word, dating to c. 1275, and is the less formal term. Dinner dates to 1297 and signifies the chief meal of the day, no matter what time it is served, and is a formally arranged meal, sometimes given to celebrate something or in honor of someone. Both terms derived from similarly spelled French words.

[twirl]

call it what you want    just don't forget to call me

TX-- supper is at night        dinner is Sunday after church      lunch is M-S, what you would call dinner on Sunday

[paris]

Ohio Buckeye - like you---we called it supper and Sunday after church was dinner.   Dinner was always more "formal" with more dishes served.  Supper was lighter; stews and soups in winter, sandwiches in summer.   Fried chicken or pot roast was definitely dinner!    We also called it the front room instead of the living room and davenport instead of a couch.   Now, living in the south, most say lunch and dinner.  Sunday is still dinner for the noontime meal.   And they "cut" on the lights--not turn on the lights.  I love each area having their own way of saying things.    And what do you call the evening meal on Sunday?  Leftovers!

[Ohio Buckeye]

My gosh I had forgotten that Paris.  We called the living room the front room and called
the couch (or sofa) davenport.  When I grew up we also had an outhouse and it was AWFUL getting up in the
cold winter's night to go outside.   I still have a scar I got when I slipped on a board on a rainy night hurrying to get
back in the house.  Indoor plumbing is great!  We also had a pot belly coal stove. 
Boy young people now days have it good.

[mikey07840]

I always used Dinner for the week and Supper for Sundays. I don't know why my family called it like that. I think we're crazy. 

[Falkenbach]

Supper is a light evening meal - ............... served late in the evening after an early-evening dinner.

This is the way I've always thought of it.

However, we tend to use "tea" instead of "dinner". It's "tea time" not "dinner time" - when I think about it, I have no idea why. We are sitting down for a meal, not a cup of tea. Beats me.

Do other Aussies use "tea" instead of "dinner"? I grew up in Victoria and have lived in South Australia for 13 years. Don't know what is commonly used in other states.

[skyedogrocks]

Growing up in Greater Boston we referred to it as Supper.  As I got older I referred to it as dinner.  Now we call it both Supper and Dinner, really no significance.

Growing up we also called our living room a "parlor", everyone did.  These days I call it the living room.

[Bajanne]

In my culture, dinner is the more formal term, but they can be used interchangeably.  When I hear supper I think of a smaller less involved meal, like a good soup with toast.

We used living room, drawing room, or 'front house'.

[Sluff]

We call our meals  Breakfast, Lunch and Supper. Now if there is a special occasion like a holiday we then call Supper Dinner.

[boxman55]

We call our meals  Breakfast, Lunch and Supper. Now if there is a special occasion like a holiday we then call Supper Dinner.

10-4 must be a Wisconsin thing we do the same...Boxman

[KICKSTART]

Breakfast ..Dinner ..Tea ..Supper  thats me !

[Ohio Buckeye]

We used to call our refrigerator an ice-box.

[monrein]

Me too. 

In Jamaica we had breakfast (often said break fast), lunch, tea (light or full) and supper.  And my Mom never cooked any of them.  Our cook Miss Ellen did.  I loved that woman!!!

[kitkatz]

Just don't call me late to any of them!

[KT0930]

I lived the first 12 years of my life in Virginia, and I have always called the midday meal lunch (even on Sundays) and used dinner and supper interchangeably for the evening meal. I have lived in several very different areas of the country, though and noticed several things:

The older generation in the deep south (husband's family from south Alabama) calls the midday meal dinner and says they're going to "ring" somebody instead of call them on the phone.

Skyedogrocks, I lived in western Massachusetts, and that's the only area of the country that I still hear people use the term "parlor", but even some of my generation (mid-30's) use that.

In Arizona, they seem much less formal, and have less sense of history as a culture, so they do things much like I grew up with...lunch at noon; supper/dinner in the evening.

[Falkenbach]

I never could fully work out what a "parlor" was. It sounds so formal, so I had always thought that it couldn't be something so simple as a loungeroom (or living room in your language).