1. The main meal of the day, taken either around midday or in the evening.

2. A formal evening meal, typically one in honour of a person or event.

也就是说，Dinner主要有两个意思：

1、正餐（可以是中餐，也可以是晚餐）

2、晚宴（主要是宴请某人或举办活动）

1、正餐（可以是中餐，也可以是晚餐）

2、晚宴（主要是宴请某人或举办活动）

而词源词典（www.etymonline.com）对于Dinner一词的演化是这样解释的：

Always used in English for the main meal of the day, but the time of that has gradually shifted later.

In medieval and modern Europe the common practice, down to the middle of the eighteenth century, was to take this meal about midday, or in more primitive times even as early as 9 or 10 A.M. In France, under the old régime, the dinner-hour was at 2 or 3 in the afternoon; but when the Constituent Assembly moved to Paris, since it sat until 4 or 5 o'clock, the hour for dining was postponed. The custom of dining at 6 o'clock or later has since become common, except in the country, where early dinner is still the general practice. [Century Dictionary, 1897]

Always used in English for the main meal of the day, but the time of that has gradually shifted later.

In medieval and modern Europe the common practice, down to the middle of the eighteenth century, was to take this meal about midday, or in more primitive times even as early as 9 or 10 A.M. In France, under the old régime, the dinner-hour was at 2 or 3 in the afternoon; but when the Constituent Assembly moved to Paris, since it sat until 4 or 5 o'clock, the hour for dining was postponed. The custom of dining at 6 o'clock or later has since become common, except in the country, where early dinner is still the general practice. [Century Dictionary, 1897]

也就是说，从十八世纪一开始，Dinner主要是指午餐，其用餐时间可早至上午九点或十点。在法国，Dinner的时间从下午两三点慢慢推迟到六点或更晚。

所以，当你中午在某地吃着丰盛的午餐的时候，其实你是在吃Dinner。

二、Supper

接下来我们来看看柯林斯和牛津英语词典对Supper的定义：

牛津英语词典：An evening meal, typically a light or informal one.

柯林斯英语词典：Some people refer to the main meal eaten in the early part of the evening as supper.

牛津英语词典：An evening meal, typically a light or informal one.

柯林斯英语词典：Some people refer to the main meal eaten in the early part of the evening as supper.

由此可以看出，Supper才是“晚饭”的正解。

需要注意的是，柯林斯英语词典对Supper还给出了这样的解释：

Supper is a simple meal eaten just before you go to bed at night.

Supper is a simple meal eaten just before you go to bed at night.

这就相当于我们睡觉前吃的“夜宵”，睡前小食。

然而，Dinner与Supper的区别不仅仅是在其所食不同，它们也存在地域使用差异。比如，在美国，更为常用的是Dinner，而在加拿大，更为常用的却是Supper。

三、更多内容

有关Dinner和Supper更多的详细内容，请点开下面的视频观看了解：

四、一日不止三餐

可能更让大家想不到的是，在英语里，一日可远不止三餐，而是有九餐哦！

你肯定想知道是哪九餐吧？！那就赶紧点开下面的文章了解吧：

你知道一天有哪九顿饭可以吃吗？吃货最该进来看看！

虽然一天有九顿饭可吃，但也千万别吃多了，否则如下图：

如果觉得好，欢迎继续关注廖怀宝的原创微信订阅号“新概念英语的教与学”！返回搜狐，查看更多