Supper is a name for the evening meal in some dialects of English. While often used interchangeably with "dinner" today, supper was traditionally a separate meal. "Dinner" traditionally had been used to refer to the main, most formal, meal of the day, which, from the Middle ages until the 18th century, was most often the midday meal. When the evening meal became the main meal, it was referred to as "dinner", and the lighter midday meal was called "luncheon."
The term is derived from the French souper, which is still used for this meal in Canadian French, Swiss French and sometimes in Belgian French. It is related to soup. It is also related to the German word for soup, Suppe. (The Oxford English Dictionary, however, suggests that the root, sup, retains obscure origins).
Supper may refer to, on largely class-based distinctions, either a late-evening snack (working and middle class usage) or to make a distinction between "supper" as an informal family meal (which would be eaten in the kitchen or family dining room) as opposed to "dinner"; generally a grander affair (either or both in terms of the meal and the courses within the meal itself), which would be eaten in the best dining room, may well have guests from outside the household, and for which there may be a dress code. It is common for social interest and hobby clubs that meet in the evening after normal dinner hours to announce that "a light supper" will be served after the main business of the meeting.