middag

• mirrag (Cape Afrikaans)

From Dutch middag, from Middle Dutch middach.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmə.daχ/

middag (plural middae)

1. An afternoon.
2. midday, noon

• agtermiddag
• laatmiddag
• middagete
• middagkos

From mid- (“middle”) +‎ dag (“day”). Compare Old Norse miðdagr, miðr dagr, English midday, Dutch middag, German Mittag.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmed̥a]

middag c (singular definite middagen, plural indefinite middage)

1. midday, noon (the time between ca. 11am and 1pm)
2. dinner, supper (the evening meal)

   Synonym: aftensmad

3. (rare, dated) lunch (especially in rural areas, where the major hot meal is served at noon)

   Synonym: frokost

4. dinner, banquet (a formal dinner with invited guests)

From Middle Dutch middach. Equivalent to mid- +‎ dag.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪ.dɑx/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mid‧dag

middag m (plural middagen, diminutive middagje n)

1. midday, noon

   Ik eet meestal rond middag. ― I usually eat around midday.

   De zon staat hoog aan de hemel rond middag. ― The sun is high in the sky around noon.

   De klokken luiden elke middag. ― The bells ring every noon.

2. (chiefly Netherlands) afternoon (period from 12 PM to 6 PM)

   Synonym: (Belgium) namiddag

   Op zondag middag ga ik naar het park. ― On Sunday afternoon, I go to the park.

   Het wordt drukker in de stad tijdens de middag. ― The city gets busier during the afternoon.

   De kinderen spelen buiten in de middag. ― The children play outside in the afternoon.

3. (Suriname) afternoon and early evening (period from 12 PM to 7 PM)

• Afrikaans: middag
• Jersey Dutch: míddāx
• Negerhollands: middag, meddag
• → Lokono: méndaka

From Old Norse miðdagr, miðr dagr, from miðr (“middle”) and dagr (“day”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪd.dɑɡ/

middag m (definite singular middagen, indefinite plural middager, definite plural middagene)

1. dinner (main meal of the day)
2. noon, midday (around 12 noon)

• ettermiddag
• formiddag
• julemiddag
• middagsbord

• “middag” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse miðdagr, miðr dagr, from miðr (“middle”) and dagr (“day”).

middag m (plural middagen)

1. dinner (main meal of the day)
2. noon, midday (around 12 noon)

• ettermiddag
• formiddag, føremiddag
• julemiddag, jolemiddag
• middagsbord
• middagstid

• “middag” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Old Swedish miþdagher, midhdagher, Old Norse miðdagr, miðr dagr, from miðr (“middle”) + dagr (“day”). By surface analysis, mid- +‎ dag (“day”).

Middag originally referred to the biggest meal of the day, which was eaten at noon, hence the name, and the meal eaten in the evening was kvällsmat or kvällsvard. After the Industrial Revolution, the time of the main meal of the day shifted to the evening, after work hours, and the word lunch was borrowed from English to denote the meal eaten around noon. Kvällsmat now commonly refers to a lighter supper (like sandwiches).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪda/
• (in careful speech) IPA^(key): /ˈmɪdɑːɡ/

• Audio:

  (file)

middag c

1. midday, noon

   Synonyms: mitt på dagen, middagstid, klockan tolv, tolvtiden, tolvsnåret

2. dinner

   – Vad blir det till middag? – (Det blir) kålpudding.

   – What's for dinner? – (We're having) cabbage pudding.

   (literally, “– What becomes it [what will it be] for dinner? – (It becomes [it will be]) cabbage pudding.”)

   Vad åt du till middag?

   What did you have [eat] for dinner?

   Vi äter middag

   We're having [eating] dinner

3. (dated, dialectal) lunch

   Synonym: lunch

The expression mitt på dagen (“middle of the day”) is commonly used to refer to (around) noon, which avoids potential confusion with dinner (time).

• brakmiddag
• middagstid

• efterrätt (“dessert”)
• frukost (“breakfast”)
• kvällsmat (“supper, evening meal”)
• lunch (“lunch”)
• mat (“food”)
• mellanmål (“snack (between meals)”)
• måltid (“meal”)

• middag in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• middag in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• middag in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• “Middag”, in Språket i P1‎^[1], Sveriges Radio, 9 November 2009, retrieved 15 May 2020