Menu
/ˈmɛnjuː/noun
A list of dishes available at a meal or restaurant.
Did you know?The word entered English from French, where it originally meant something “made small” or “detailed,” from Latin minutus, which is also the ancestor of words like minute and minuscule.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
minutus
“made small; lessened; fine, detailed”
Old French
French
menu
“small; fine; detailed”
17th Century
French
menu
“a detailed list or memorandum, especially of dishes”
19th Century
English
menu
“a list of dishes available at a meal or restaurant”
Modern English
English
menu
“the list of items available to choose from, especially in a restaurant or on a computer”