ante-suppern.
/ˈantᵻsʌpə/, U.S. /ˈæn(t)əˌsəpər/ historical.
A course of a meal displayed to whet the appetite but not eaten, spec. one which is then replaced with an identical course to be eaten.In later quots. with reference to the 1st Earl of Carlisle, apparent inventor of this course (see quot. 1658).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > course > [noun] > course not eaten
ante-supper1658
1658 F. Osborne Trad. Mem. Raigne Iames 124 in Hist. Mem. Reigns Elizabeth & Iames The Earle of Carlile was one of the Quorum, that brought in the Vanity of Ante-Suppers, not heard of in our forefathers time.
1714 A. Collins Peerage Eng. (ed. 2) II. 54 Having his Ante-Suppers, at one of which, an Attendant eat for his own Share a Pye, Reckoned at 20 l. Sterling.
1819 Brit. Critic Dec. 606 By the time the eye was satiated, it was supposed that the viands must have grown cold. The ante-supper, as it was called, was accordingly removed, and an exact duplicate served in its place.
1911 F. W. Hackwood Good Cheer xxii. 273 This ante-supper, as it was called, was quickly removed and another supper, quite hot, and presenting in every detail the exact duplicate of the one taken away, was served in its place.
2000 T. Raylor Essex House Masque i. 51 It may have been from France that Doncaster drew the inspiration for the most notorious invention attributed to him—the antesupper.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1658