Wiktionary

supper

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English sopere, from Old French soper, from sope (“soup”). Compare French souper.

Noun

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supper (countable and uncountable, plural suppers)

  1. Food consumed before going to bed.
  2. Any meal eaten in the evening; dinner eaten in the evening, rather than at noon.
    We normally have supper at 7.
  3. (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England, slang) A meal from a chip shop consisting of a deep-fried food with chips.
    a pizza supper
    • 2014, Gerald Hansen, An Embarrassment of Riches:
      Roisin the savior paraded into the front room with three fish suppers, one sausage supper, one single fish, one single chips, a single sausage, a chicken and chips, and three curry and chips.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • → Japanese: サパー (sapā)
  • → Maori: hapa
  • → Welsh: swper
  • → Zulu: îsápha
Translations
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Verb

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supper (third-person singular simple present suppers, present participle suppering, simple past and past participle suppered)

  1. (intransitive) To consume a snack before going to bed.
  2. (intransitive) To eat dinner.
    Synonyms: dine, dinner
  3. (transitive) To provide (a person or animal) with supper.
    • 1815, “Supplement to Volume LXXXV. Part I. […]”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine: and Historical Chronicle. […], London: […] [John] Nichols, Son, and [Samuel] Bentley, […], page 581, column 1:
      Horns in the night-season are heard a great way off, and in the winter-season were blown at every farmer’s house about eight at night when they suppered the horses and cows; […]
    • 1828, John White, quotee, Trial of William Dyon, and His Son, John Dyon, for the Wilful Murder of Their Relative, Mr. John Dyon, […], Doncaster: Brooke & Co. […]; C. & J. White, […], page 15:
      I went to supper up my horses, and heard somebody; […] After suppering the horses, I went into the house, and saw Stacey, who asked me if I had suppered the horses.
    • 1876 July, J[ohn] H[ancock] Pettingell, “English Verbs”, in Edward A[llen] Fay, editor, American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb, volume XXI, number 3, Washington, D.C.: […] Gibson Brothers, page 156:
      Foreigners, and deaf-mutes especially, who are not familiar with what we call “good usage,” frequently fall into ludicrous mistakes in framing sentences out of the elements that have been given them. One writes: […] “My friend suppered me” instead of gave me supper. Such expressions are according to rule, and appear singular only because they have not come into general use.
    • 1883, John Menzies, Reminiscences of an Old Soldier, Edinburgh: […] Crawford & M‘Cabe […], page 4:
      It was Friday when this idea suggested itself to my mind, and, so soon as I had suppered the horses, I dashed into the wood, disturbing pheasants right and left, and forcing the lively rabbits, out for the evening’s sports, to beat a hasty retreat!
    • 1889 November 15, Edwin Booth, “Letters to His Daughter”, in Edwin Booth: Recollections by His Daughter, Edwina Booth Grossmann, and Letters to Her and to His Friends, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., published 1894, page 101:
      My birthday was a “Fourth of July” from early a. m., when your sweet gift greeted me, till 2 a. m., when “The Players” “suppered” me gorgeously.
    • 1891, Thomas R[oscoe] R[ede] Stebbing, “The Loom and the Quarry—Farm-Work and Self-Education”, in The Naturalist of Cumbrae: A True Story, Being the Life of David Robertson, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd, page 66:
      In his new employment it was agreed that David should be allowed to go on winter nights at eight o’clock, after he had suppered the horses, to a night school at a place called Millwell, perhaps about three miles or so distant, to take lessons in arithmetic.
    • 1894, [Margaret] Oliphant, chapter XXI, in Sir Robert’s Fortune: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], page 188:
      Ronald went out to Dougal after dinner and stood by him while he suppered the pony.
    • 1905, Sarah Tytler [pseudonym; Henrietta Keddie], “The Master’s Gift of ‘Heckling’”, in A Daughter of the Manse, Colonial edition, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin […], pages 58–59:
      [W]hile the prospect of being the gudewife of one of the neighbouring farms, where the farmer held the plough, suppered the horses, turned out and brought in the “kye” when the herd was absent on an errand, and smelt habitually of the stable and the byre, no prospect could have been more odious to her.
    • 1910, Madison Cawein, “The Shadow Garden, A Phantasy”, in The Shadow Garden (A Phantasy) and Other Plays, New York, N.Y., London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, scene II, page 30:
      Snapdragon: […] What wind blew thee hither? / The Beetle: No wind; but that sweet leaf which suppered me / Last eve, and music of our cricket friend, / Who still persists in serenading thee.
    • 1942, Frank Clune, “A Paradise on Bathurst Island”, in Isles of Spice: An Extensive Journey through the Dutch East Indies, Indo-China and North Australia, New York, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., page 61:
      His Honour and Mrs Abbott graciously suppered me at Darwin’s Government House in a cool and wholesome lounge room.
    • 1984, John Barrington, “Glistening Glengyle”, in Red Sky at Night, London: Michael Joseph, →ISBN, page 27:
      However, once the calves have been suppered, the dogs must be fed too.
    • 2021, Atsuro Riley, “Striplings”, in Heard-Hoard, Chicago, Ill., London: The University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 14:
      Most nights the boy they called Tynan suppered us with scrapple from a can.
Translations
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Etymology 2

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From sup +‎ -er.

Noun

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supper (plural suppers)

  1. A drinker, especially one who drinks slowly (i.e., one who sups).
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Anagrams

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Danish

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Noun

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supper c

  1. indefinite plural of suppe

Norwegian Bokmål

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Noun

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supper m or f

  1. indefinite plural of suppe

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Noun

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supper f

  1. indefinite plural of suppe
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