dinner hourn.
/ˈdɪnər aʊə/, U.S. /ˈdɪnər ˌaʊ(ə)r/ 1. The time of day at which dinner is eaten.
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the world > food and drink > food > meal > meal-time > [noun] > dinner-time
dinner time1370
dining timea1450
dinner hour1598
1598 T. Tyro Roring Megge sig. B3 Written in haste the twentith of December, About the dinner houre of Eleuen, 1597.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xvi. iii. 21 The Dinner Hour being arrived, black George carried her up a Pullet.
1780 E. Fay Orig. Lett. from India 1779–1815 (1925) i. 189 The dinner hour..is two, and it is customary to sit a long while at table.
1883 Argo 27 Jan. 180/2 The dinner hour passes and still they wait, Mrs. P. distraught with fears of the over-doneness of the turkey.
1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) ii. 82 I can come home at the dinner hour, which is noon, for a cup of tea and a cut of fried bread.
2. A period of time set aside for eating dinner; (chiefly British) spec. a break in the middle of the working or school day for this purpose. Now typically with possessive pronoun.
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1749 J. Wesley Plain Acct. Methodists 7 As many of them as had Opportunity, wou'd meet together every Friday, and spend the Dinner Hour in crying to God.
1888 Durham Univ. Jrnl. 24 Mar. 36 The ‘tea equipages’ might be cleared away during the dinner hour.
1899 Navy & Army Illustr. 9 Dec. 307 The remainder of the dinner hour..is spent in smoking and perhaps dozing.
1933 Punch 2 Aug. 124/2 I came upon him drinking his elevenses (these functions usually lasted from eleven-thirty to twelve—the time of his dinner-hour).
2015 Warrington Guardian (Nexis) 7 Aug. I realised I had a number of missed calls from the police station during my dinner hour.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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n.1598