1.
a. The chief meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at
midday.
b. A banquet or formal meal in honor of a person or event.
c. The food prepared for either of these meals.
2. A full-course meal served at a fixed price; table d'hôte.
Word History: Eating foods such as pizza and ice cream for
breakfast may be justified etymologically. In Middle English
dinner
meant "breakfast," as did the Old French word
disner, or
diner,
which was the source of our word. The Old French word came from the Vulgar
Latin word
*disi
n
re,
meaning "to break one's fast; that is, to eat one's first meal," a notion
also contained in our word
breakfast. The Vulgar Latin word was
derived from an earlier word,
*disi
i
n
re,
the Latin elements of which are
dis-, denoting reversal, and
i
i
nium,
"fast." Middle English
diner not only meant "breakfast" but, echoing
usage of the Old French word
diner, more commonly meant "the first
big meal of the day, usually eaten between 9
a.m. and noon." Customs change,
however, and over the years we have let the chief meal become the last meal
of the day, by which time we have broken our fast
n.
1. The act or practice of abstaining from or eating very little
food.
2. A period of such abstention or self-denial.