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Dinner: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Dinner
In 1765, King George III dined at four o'clock in the afternoon, while his infant sons ate their meal at two o'clock, creating a generational gap in dining habits that would define the next century of social etiquette. The word dinner originates from the Old French term desjeuner, meaning to break one's fast, and traces its roots back to the Latin ieiunare, which signifies fasting. Originally, the largest meal of the day was consumed around midday, a custom that persisted through the 17th century when Louis XIV dined at noon and reserved his supper for ten o'clock in the evening. As the 18th century progressed, the fashionable hour for dinner began to migrate later due to changes in work practices, the availability of artificial lighting, and shifting financial statuses among the elite. By the time of the First French Empire, an English traveler to Paris described the habit of dining as late as seven in the evening as abominable, yet this very lateness became the new standard for the upper classes. The pressure to push dinner later continued into the mid-19th century, creating a social minefield where John Ruskin dined at six o'clock after his marriage in 1848, a time his parents deemed unhealthy, while Mrs. Gaskell maintained an earlier schedule between four and five o'clock. The fictional Mr. Pooter, a lower middle-class Londoner in 1888, was invited by his son to dine at eight o'clock, but he refused, stating that they did not pretend to be fashionable people and preferred the dinner to be earlier. This cultural shift was so significant that a satirical novel published in 1855, Living for Appearances, featured a hero who dined at seven o'clock and complained of the disgusting and tradesman-like custom of early dining, suggesting that the time one ate dinner was a direct indicator of one's social standing.
Etymology And Evolution
The linguistic history of dinner reveals a transformation from a simple act of breaking a fast to a complex social ritual that defines modern Western culture. The term derives from the Gallo-Romance stem desjunare, which combines the Latin prefix indicating the opposite of an action with the verb ieiunare, meaning to fast. While the Romanian and French words retain this etymology and some of the original meaning, the Spanish and Portuguese terms have evolved to refer exclusively to breakfast. Over time, the word shifted to describe the heavy main meal of the day, even if it was preceded by breakfast or lunch, effectively inverting its original function. In hot climates, the main meal remains more likely to be eaten in the evening after the temperature has fallen, preserving the ancient logic of eating when the heat is gone. The divide between different meanings of dinner is not strictly determined by geography or socioeconomic class, as the term for the midday meal is most commonly used by working-class people in the English Midlands, the North of England, and the central belt of Scotland. Even in systems where dinner is the meal usually eaten at the end of the day, an individual dinner may still refer to a main or more sophisticated meal at any time, such as a banquet, feast, or a special meal eaten on a Sunday or holiday like Christmas dinner. This flexibility allows the word to encompass everything from a basic family meal to a state dinner, depending on the context and the people involved.
King George III dined at four o'clock in the afternoon in 1765. His infant sons ate their meal at two o'clock, creating a generational gap in dining habits that defined the next century of social etiquette.
What is the origin of the word dinner?
The word dinner originates from the Old French term desjeuner, meaning to break one's fast. It traces its roots back to the Latin ieiunare, which signifies fasting.
When did the fashionable hour for dinner migrate to the evening?
The fashionable hour for dinner began to migrate later during the 18th century due to changes in work practices, the availability of artificial lighting, and shifting financial statuses among the elite. By the 19th century, it had pushed further to seven or eight o'clock.
What is the peak dinner time in the United States?
Dinner time peaks at 6:19 p.m. in the United States according to an American Time Use Survey analysis. Most households eat between 5:07 p.m. and 8:19 p.m.
What are the main styles of formal dinner service?
The most common methods are Russian style, French style, and English style. Russian style involves bringing each course to the table sequentially, while French style traditionally involved serving various dishes all at the same time.
What was a dinner party called in Ancient Rome?
During the times of Ancient Rome, a dinner party was referred to as a convivium. It was a significant event for Roman emperors and senators to congregate and discuss their relations.
The timing of dinner became a potent marker of social identity during the Victorian era, creating a minefield of generational and class tensions that played out at the dinner table. In the mid-19th century, the issue of when to eat dinner was deeply contentious, with the elite leading the charge to push the hour later as commutes grew longer and cities expanded. The fictional Mr. Pooter, a lower middle-class Londoner, found himself at odds with his son when invited to dine at eight o'clock, a time the elder man rejected because it was too fashionable for their station. This tension was captured in Henry Mayhew's satirical novel Living for Appearances, where the hero dines at seven o'clock and derides the tradesman-like custom of early dining, asserting that the time one eats dinner reveals one's true character. The novel references Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's famous maxim, Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are, adapting it to the timing of the meal. By 1850, English middle-class dinners were typically held between five and six o'clock, allowing men to arrive back from work, but the continuing pressure for the hour to drift later created a divide between those who could afford to dine late and those who could not. The fashionable hour for dinner had moved from noon to four o'clock by the 18th century, and by the 19th century, it had pushed further to seven or eight o'clock, leaving the working class to navigate a social landscape where the time of one's meal was a direct reflection of one's status and aspirations.
Modern Dining Habits
In the United States, dinner time peaks at 6:19 p.m., according to an American Time Use Survey analysis, with most households eating between 5:07 p.m. and 8:19 p.m. The states that ate the earliest were Pennsylvania, with a peak at 5:37 p.m., and Maine, at 5:40 p.m., while the states that ate the latest were Texas and Mississippi, both peaking at 7:02 p.m., and Washington, D.C., which ate at 7:10 p.m. In the United Kingdom, a survey by Jacob's Creek, an Australian winemaker, found the average evening meal time to be 7:47 p.m., highlighting a significant difference in dining culture between the two nations. The term dinner now refers to the evening meal, which is typically the largest meal of the day in most Western cultures, and when this meaning is used, the preceding meals are usually referred to as breakfast, lunch, and perhaps a tea. Supper is now often an alternative term for dinner, though originally it was always a later secondary evening meal after an early dinner. The divide between different meanings of dinner is not cut-and-dried based on either geography or socioeconomic class, as the term for the midday meal is most commonly used by working-class people, especially in the English Midlands, North of England, and the central belt of Scotland. Even in systems where dinner is the meal usually eaten at the end of the day, an individual dinner may still refer to a main or more sophisticated meal at any time, such as a banquet, feast, or a special meal eaten on a Sunday or holiday, such as Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner.
The Art Of Service
Formal dinners require a commitment to a specific style of service, with the most common methods being Russian style, French style, and English style, each with its own history and protocol. Service rendered in the Russian style, or service à la russe, involves bringing each course to the table sequentially, with the food portioned on individual plates by the waiter, a method usually perceived to be more formal. Service rendered in the French style, or service à la française, traditionally involved serving various dishes of the meal all at the same time in an impressive display, with guests serving themselves from the serving dishes, similar to that of a buffet. Guéridon service, also known as tableside service or from the cart, is a relative blend of the French and Russian styles, where every dish is portioned by a waiter at the tableside, involving the cooking or finishing of foods by a waiter, maître d'hôtel, or captain at the diner's table from a special serving cart called a guéridon trolley. Service rendered in the English style, or service à l'anglaise, is usually viewed as a slightly trimmed down version of Russian style service, but has a strong emphasis on the professionalism of the servicing personnel, and is also known as butler service. The most formal of dinner events will require guests to dress in formal, white-tie attire, with men wearing a full evening-dress ensemble and women wearing evening gowns or ball gowns, while most commonly, guests will be expected to dress in semi-formal, black-tie attire, with men wearing tuxedos and women wearing cocktail dresses, evening gowns, or le smoking, the women's tuxedo.
Ancient And Modern Gatherings
During the times of Ancient Rome, a dinner party was referred to as a convivium, and was a significant event for Roman emperors and senators to congregate and discuss their relations. In London, dinner parties were formal occasions that included printed invitations and formal RSVPs, with the food served ranging from large, extravagant food displays and several meal courses to more simple fare and food service. Activities sometimes included singing and poetry reciting, among others, transforming the meal into a cultural event as well as a culinary one. A dinner party is a social gathering at which people congregate to eat dinner, existing on a spectrum from a basic meal to a state dinner. The general guidelines of a formal dinner include a commitment to a style of formal dinner service, an appropriately formal setting or dining room, multiple courses served, and a seating protocol. These dinners are often divided into three or more courses, with appetizers consisting of options such as soup or salad preceding the main course, which is followed by the dessert. The people who dine together may be formally dressed and consume food with an array of utensils, creating an atmosphere of ceremony and tradition that has persisted from ancient Rome to the modern day.