men·u

(mĕn′yo͞o)

1. A list of the dishes to be served or available for a meal.

2. The dishes served or available at a meal.

3. A list of available options, especially as displayed on a screen.

[French, small, minute, menu, from Old French menut, small, from Latin minūtus, past participle of minuere, to diminish; see mei- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: Menu can be traced back to the Latin word minūtus, meaning "small in size, amount, or degree" and also "possessing or involving minute knowledge." Latin minūtus became Old French menut and Modern French menu, "small, fine, trifling, minute." The French adjective came to be used as a noun with the senses "detail, details collectively," and "detailed list." As such, it was used in the phrase menu de repas, "list of items of a meal," which then was shortened to just menu. The French word was then borrowed into English in the 1800s.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

men•u

(ˈmɛn yu, ˈmeɪ nyu)

n., pl. men•us.

1. a list of the dishes that can or will be served at a meal.

2. the dishes served.

3. any list or set of items from which to choose.

4. a list of options available to a user, as displayed on a computer or TV screen.

[1650–60; < French: detailed list, n. use of menu small, detailed < Latin minūtus minute²]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	menu - a list of dishes available at a restaurant; "the menu was in French" bill of fare, carte, carte du jour, card bill - a list of particulars (as a playbill or bill of fare) a la carte - a menu having individual dishes listed with separate prices prix fixe - a menu listing fixed meals at fixed prices table d'hote - a menu offering a complete meal with limited choices at a fixed price
	2.	menu - the dishes making up a meal fare - the food and drink that are regularly served or consumed
	3.	menu - (computer science) a list of options available to a computer user computer menu computer science, computing - the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures list, listing - a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics) drop-down menu - a menu of options that appears below the item when the computer user clicks on it cascading menu, hierarchical menu, submenu - a secondary menu that appears while you are holding the cursor over an item on the primary menu
	4.	menu - an agenda of things to do; "they worked rapidly down the menu of reports" fare agenda, schedule, docket - a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to

(= bill of fare) → Speisekarte f; (= dishes served) → Menü nt; may we see the menu? → können or würden Sie uns bitte die Karte bringen?, können wir bitte die Karte sehen?; what’s on the menu? → was steht heute auf dem Speisezettel?, was gibt es heute (zu essen)?; they have a very good menu there → man kann dort ausgezeichnet essen; the typical British menu consists of … → ein typisches britisches Essen besteht aus …

(Comput) → Menü nt