dinnermate

English

Etymology

From dinner +‎ -mate.

Noun

dinnermate (plural dinnermates)

1. A friend or colleague with whom one eats dinner.

   Coordinate terms: lunchmate, suppermate

   • 1925 February 10, “Dinner Sociable at Baptist Church: Dr. Hunt Dances Jig. Rev. Stewart and Dr. Stewart Speak”, in The Bucknellian, volume XXVIII, number 18, Lewisburg, Pa., page one, column 4:

     Timid young men men became bold for the occasion and, bowing before the young women, selected their dinnermates.

   • 1977 September 28, “Reminiscent of European fare: Pork shoulder roast with beer glaze recipe listed”, in Progress Bulletin, volume 93, number 241, Pomona, Calif., page 44, column 2:

     This Pork Shoulder Roast with a Beer Glaze, for example, will give you a taste of Germany. It’s a real ego trip, too, when the returns are in from your dinnermates.

   • 1986, George V. Allen, Rivals, Popular Library, →ISBN, page 232:

     Libby and Val were greeted by Ernie Jones at their impressive up-front table and introduced to their Baxter and National dinnermates.

   • 1988, Jane and Michael Stern, “Breakfast”, in A Taste of America, Kansas City, Mo., New York, N.Y.: Andrews and McMeel, →ISBN, page 11:

     We were staunch partisans of Polly’s Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, or maybe Walker Brothers in Wilmette, Illinois; but then our dinnermates threw the discussion into chaos by suggesting that the best in all the land were the baked pancakes served at the Big 3 Fountain in California’s Sonoma Valley.

   • 1988, Ellen Wojahn, Playing by Different Rules, AMACOM, →ISBN, page 111:

     Barton, obviously relieved by Loomis’s departure, loudly ordered that two bottles of champagne be brought directly to his table. “Now,” he declared to his amused dinnermates, “the party begins!”

   • 1988, Judith Brode Hirsch, The Spa Book: A Guide to the Top 101 Resorts in America, Perigee Books, →ISBN, page 338:

     GUEST POPULATION: Coed. 80–130 guests. Many come to seek reversals of serious health problems but some merely wish to improve and prolong their health. One delighted Pritikinite was happy to have Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy as dinnermates.

   • 1990, Tom Brosnahan, Turkey: A Travel Survival Kit, 3rd edition, Lonely Planet Publications, →ISBN, page 607:

     When the coffee arrives, the waiter may well have confused the cups, and you may find yourself exchanging with your dinnermates.