middag

Afrikaans

Alternative forms

• mirrag (Cape Afrikaans)

Etymology

From Dutch middag, from Middle Dutch middach.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmə.daχ/

Noun

middag (plural middae)

1. An afternoon.
2. midday, noon

Derived terms

• agtermiddag
• laatmiddag
• middagete
• middagkos

Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmed̥a]

Noun

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)

Inflection

Declension of middag

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	middag	middagen	middage	middagene
genitive	middags	middagens	middages	middagenes

Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪ.dɑx/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mid‧dag

Noun

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)

Derived terms

• middageten
• middagmaal
• middagpauze
• middaguur
• namiddag
• voormiddag

Descendants

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

See also

• (times of day) dagdeel; dageraad/ochtendschemering, zonsopgang/zonsopkomst, ochtend/morgen, voormiddag, middag, namiddag, avond, zonsondergang, avondschemering, nacht, middernacht

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɪd.dɑɡ/

Noun

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

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

Derived terms

• ettermiddag
• formiddag
• julemiddag
• middagsbord

References

• “middag” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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

Noun

middag m (plural middagen)

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

Derived terms

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

References

• “middag” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

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).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

middag c

1. midday, noon

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

2. dinner

   Vi äter middag

   We are having dinner

3. (dated, dialectal) lunch

Usage notes

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

Declension

Declension of middag

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	middag	middags
	definite	middagen	middagens
plural	indefinite	middagar	middagars
	definite	middagarna	middagarnas

Derived terms

• brakmiddag
• middagstid

References

• 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, 2009 November 9, retrieved 15 May 2020