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Dinner vs Feast - What's the difference?

dinner | feast |

As nouns the difference between dinner and feast

is that dinner is a midday meal in a context in which the evening meal is called supper or tea while feast is a very large meal, often of a ceremonial nature.

As a verb feast is

to partake in a feast, or large meal.

dinner

English

(wikipedia dinner)

Noun

  • A midday meal (in a context in which the evening meal is called supper or tea).
  • *
  • *:At twilight in the summeron the floor.
  • The main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening.
  • An evening meal.
  • A meal given to an animal.
  • :
  • A formal meal for many people eaten for a special occasion.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1897, author=
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 citation , passage=When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1927, author= F. E. Penny
    • , chapter=4, title= Pulling the Strings , passage=Soon after the arrival of Mrs. Campbell, dinner was announced by Abboye. He came into the drawing room resplendent in his gold-and-white turban. […] His cummerbund matched the turban in gold lines.}}
  • (lb) The food provided or consumed at any such meal.

    • Usage notes

    * There are differences in usage according to the social class of the speaker. Working-class and lower-middle-class speakers in Britain, for example, are more likely to refer to the midday meal as "dinner" and the evening meal as "tea" rather than "supper". Some speakers use common collocations of dinner'' such as ''school dinner'', ''Sunday dinner'' and ''Christmas dinner'' to describe meals that they wouldn't otherwise call a ''dinner .

    Synonyms

    * (an evening meal) supper * (meal given to an animal) chow * (midday meal) lunch, luncheon * (formal meal for many people eaten at a special occasion) banquet, luncheon

    Derived terms

    * after-dinner speech * after-dinner * basket dinner * Christmas dinner * dinner dance * dinner fork * dinner guest * dinner jacket * dinner knife * dinner lady * dinner party * dinner plate * dinner ring * dinner roll * dinner service * dinner table * dinner time * dinnerware * done up like a dog's dinner * potluck dinner * school dinner * Sunday dinner * TV dinner

    Related terms

    * (combinatorial form) deipno- * (fear of) deipnophobia * (verb) dine

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words

    feast

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) feest, feste, fest, from (etyl) feste, from (etyl) festa, plural of .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A very large meal, often of a ceremonial nature.
    • We had a feast to celebrate the harvest.
  • Something delightful
    • It was a feast for the eyes.
  • A festival; a holiday; a solemn, or more commonly, a joyous, anniversary.
  • * Bible, Exodus xiii. 6
    • The seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.
  • * Bible, Luke ii. 41
    • Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
    Synonyms
    * banquet
    Derived terms
    * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) feesten, festen, from (etyl) fester, from , from the noun. See above.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To partake in a , or large meal.
    • I feasted on turkey and dumplings.
  • To dwell upon (something) with delight.
  • * Shakespeare
    • With my love's picture then my eye doth feast .
  • To hold a in honor of (someone).
    • We feasted them after the victory.
  • To serve as a feast for; to feed sumptuously.
  • * Bishop Joseph Hall
    • Or once a week, perhaps, for novelty / Reez'd bacon-soords shall feast his family.
    Derived terms
    * feaster * feast one’s eyes

    Anagrams

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