Supper was originally a secondary lighter evening meal. The main meal of the day, called dinner, used to be served closer to what is known as lunchtime, around the middle of the day, but crept later over the centuries, mostly over the course of the 19th century.

Is supper the same as lunch?

Lunch and supper are both light kinds of meal. Lunch is in the middle of the day, supper is in the evening.

What is supper and dinner?

Merriam-Webster establishes dinner as "the principal meal of the day." Supper, on the other hand, has three definitions: The evening meal when dinner is taken at mid-day. A light meal served late in the evening. An evening social especially for raising funds. (think: a church supper or social supper).