Etymograph

English

supper

Supper comes from Old French soper ‘dinner’, from supe ‘soup’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *suppōną ‘to soak’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*suppōną1‘to soak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sūpaną2‘to drink, sip’reconstructedderived within Proto-Germanic
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*supô3‘soup, broth’reconstructedderived within Proto-Germanic
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsuppa3‘sopped bread’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400supe4as sope‘soup’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400soper4‘dinner’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soper4‘Supper, dinner’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1815supper4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *sūpaną, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *supô
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French supe
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English supper
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Supplement to Volume LXXXV. Part I. […]: “Horns in the night-season are heard a great way…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*suppōnąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *sūpaną, which cites Kroonen‘to soak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sūpanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *supô‘to drink, sip’reconstructedderived within Proto-Germanic
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*supôWiktionary, Old French supe‘soup, broth’reconstructedderived within Proto-Germanic
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsuppaWiktionary, Old French supe‘sopped bread’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400supeWiktionary, English supperas sope‘soup’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400soperWiktionary, English supper‘dinner’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soperWiktionary, English supper‘Supper, dinner’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1815supperWiktionary, English supper. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Supplement to Volume LXXXV. Part I. […]: “Horns in the night-season are heard a great way…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *sūpaną ‘to drink, sip’

sup, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *supô ‘soup, broth’

sop, 2 more

through Late Latin suppa ‘sopped bread’

soup, 4 more

Today it means

noun An optional light meal consumed shortly before going to bed.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “supper”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *sūpaną, Proto-Germanic *supô, Old French supe. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *suppōną / supper

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