dining room

dining room

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Pronunciation

/ˈdaɪnɪŋ ruːm/

Syllable Breakdown:

• dai- /daɪ/:

• /d/: Voiced alveolar plosive

• /aɪ/: Diphthong (as in "my")

• -ning /nɪŋ/:

• /n/: Voiced alveolar nasal

• /ɪ/: Near-close near-front unrounded vowel (as in "kit")

• /ŋ/: Voiced velar nasal (as in "sing")

• room /ruːm/:

• /r/: Voiced alveolar approximant

• /uː/: Close back rounded vowel (as in "moon")

• /m/: Voiced bilabial nasal

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Word Form Variations

• Singular Noun: dining room (e.g., "The house has a spacious dining room.")

• Plural Noun: dining rooms (e.g., "Many restaurants have multiple dining rooms.")

Other related forms/uses:

• Hyphenated form: dining-room (This is also commonly seen, especially in British English, and is considered an acceptable variant of the unhyphenated form).

• Closed compound form (less common but sometimes seen):diningroom (While "dining room" is the standard, "diningroom" is occasionally used, particularly when referring to a "diningroom suite" or set of furniture).

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Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Noun

1. A designated area or chamber within a dwelling or establishment, specifically furnished and set aside for the consumption of meals.

• Synonyms: eating area, dining hall (for larger, more public spaces), mess hall (military/institutional), refectory (monastic/academic)

• Antonyms: kitchen (where food is prepared), living room (for general relaxation), bedroom (for sleeping)

2. The collective set of furniture typically found in such a room, including a table and chairs, and often a sideboard or hutch.

• Synonyms: dining set, dining suite, dining furniture

• Antonyms: bedroom set, living room set, kitchen cabinets

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Examples of Use

• Books:

• "They ate in the spacious dining room, the afternoon sun streaming through the tall windows." (From "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett)

• "The large dining-room, with its long table and numerous chairs, suggested a capacity for frequent, large gatherings." (From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie)

• Newspapers:

• "The new restaurant on Elm Street boasts an open-concept dining room perfect for large groups." (Local Daily News)

• "Families are opting for more casual dining rooms, blending them seamlessly with kitchen spaces." (The New York Times)

• Online Publications:

• "How to design a small dining room that feels grand." (Architectural Digest)

• "Our guide to choosing the perfect chandelier for your dining room." (Houzz)

• Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:

• Film: In the movie Downton Abbey, many pivotal scenes take place in the grand dining room of the titular estate.

• Television: "The contestants were led into the master dining room for the elimination challenge." (From a popular cooking competition show)

• Video Games: In simulation games like The Sims 4, players often build and decorate a "dining room" as a distinct part of their virtual homes.

• General Public Discourse:

• "We're redecorating our dining room next month, thinking of going with a more modern feel." (Heard in a casual conversation)

• "My favorite piece of furniture is our dining room table; so many family memories have been made around it." (Shared during an interview)

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10 Quotes Using Dining Room

1. "She went into the dining room, and sat down, and ate her breakfast, and was quite calm." (Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway, 1925)

2. "The dining room was a vast, lofty chamber with a long table." (Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897)

3. "He was standing just inside the dining room door, a tray in his hand." (Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca, 1938)

4. "I love to dress up in my best clothes and go into the dining room for supper." (Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, 1962)

5. "The dining room was filled with a comfortable silence." (Agatha Christie, A Murder is Announced, 1950)

6. "He walked into the dining room, and for a moment thought he was alone." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925)

7. "In the dining room, the morning light streamed in." (E.M. Forster, A Room with a View, 1908)

8. "They sat in the dining room, the scent of roasting chicken filling the air." (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2005)

9. "The dining room was deserted, the remains of breakfast still on the table." (P.G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934)

10. "The whole of the furniture in the dining room was in the mahogany." (Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, 1860)

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Etymology

The word "dining room" is a straightforward combination of two older English words: "dining" and "room."

Let's break it down:

• "Dining": This comes from the verb "to dine," which means "to eat the chief meal of the day, or to eat a meal in general." The word "dine" itself traces back to Old French "disner," and even further to Vulgar Latin "disjejunare", meaning "to break one's fast." So, "dining" essentially refers to the act of eating.

• "Room": This simply means a space or chamber within a building.

So, when you put them together, "dining room" literally means "a room for dining."

The first known use of "dining room" as a specific term for a designated eating space appeared in the late 1500s, with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) citing its earliest evidence around 1576 in the writings of Arthur Hall, a translator and politician.

Before dedicated "dining rooms" became common, especially in large houses and castles during the Middle Ages, people often ate in a large, multi-purpose space called a "great hall." As societies became more refined and wealth increased, particularly from the Renaissance onwards, there was a growing desire for more private and specialized rooms. This led to the creation of a distinct "dining room" where meals, especially formal ones, could be enjoyed separately from other activities in the house.

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Phrases + Idioms Containing Dining Room

Phrases & Collocations with "Dining Room":

1. Formal dining room: Refers to a more traditionally styled and often less frequently used dining space.

2. Casual dining room: Describes a more relaxed and often integrated dining area, perhaps part of a kitchen or family room.

3. Open-concept dining room: A dining area that flows directly into other living spaces without walls.

4. Dining room table: The central piece of furniture in a dining room.

5. Dining room set/suite: A collection of matching furniture for a dining room (table, chairs, sideboard).

6. The dining room light: Referring to the main light fixture in the room.

7. Off the dining room: Indicating the location of another room or area relative to the dining room.

8. Converting the dining room: Changing the purpose or function of the dining room (e.g., into an office).

9. A seat at the dining room table: (Figurative) Implies being included in important discussions or decisions, especially within a family or close group. This leans more into idiomatic use through context.

10. The heart of the dining room: Refers to the most important or central element, usually the table, where interactions happen.

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Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

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Source Information

Definition of dining room from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

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