dyner (Middle English)

Where does "dyner" come from?

The Middle English noun 'dyner', meaning 'lunch' or 'breakfast', was borrowed from the Old French 'disner'[1]. The Old French term traces back to the Vulgar Latin reconstructed forms '*disiūnō' and '*disiūnāre'[1][2], which contracted from 'disieiūnāre' meaning 'to break the fast'[2]. This deeper Latin root stems from 'dis-' combined with 'iēiūnō', meaning 'to fast', which itself derives from the Latin 'ieiūnus'[2]. It is also a doublet of the Middle English form 'dynen'[1].

Open questions

• The Vulgar Latin forms '*disiūnō' and '*disiūnāre' are reconstructed and unattested directly. [1] [2]

Full etymology tree

• dyner (Middle English), 'lunch (second meal of the day, eaten in the late morning)'
  • borrowed disner (Old French), 'to dine; to eat the main meal of the day'
    • inherited *disiūnāre (Vulgar Latin)
      • derived disjejūnāre (Latin)
        • prefix dis- (Latin), 'asunder, apart, in two'
        • derived ieiunare (Latin), 'inflection of ieiūnō:'
          • derived ieiunus (Latin), 'fasting, abstinent, hungry'
            • derived iaiūnus (Latin)
              • inherited *jagjūnos (Proto-Italic)
                • derived *h₁yaǵ-yu-s (Proto-Indo-European)
                  • derived *h₁yaǵ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to sacrifice'

Ancestors

• disner (Old French)

Cognates and doublets

• dynen (Middle English)

Descendants and derived words

• dinner (English)
• dinner (English)
• deneare (Yola)
• dineare (Yola)

Sources

1. dyner (Middle English) - Wiktionary
2. disner (Old French) - Wiktionary
3. ieiunus (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. ieiuno (Latin) - Wiktionary
5. o (Latin) - Wiktionary
6. ο (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
7. 𐤏 (Phoenician) - Wiktionary
8. disiuno (Latin) - Wiktionary
9. 𓁹 (Egyptian) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris