menu

[men-yoo, mey-nyoo] /ˈmɛn yu, ˈmeɪ nyu/
noun
1.
a list of the dishes served at a meal; bill of fare:
Ask the waiter for a menu.
2.
the dishes served.
3.
any list or set of items, activities, etc., from which to choose:
What's on the menu this weekend—golf, tennis, swimming?
4.
Computers. a list of options available to a user, as displayed on a CRT or other type of screen.
Origin
1650-60; < French: detailed list, noun use of menu small, detailed < Latin minūtus minute2
Examples from the web for menu
  • We instinctively know to wait for a table, sit down, look at the menu and then order our food.
  • The original menu had been retained, and the food was neither good nor bad.
  • His father held the menu in one hand and his newly prescribed list of dietary restrictions in the other.
  • There's not much to choose from on the menu, but plenty of information.
  • Plan a weekly menu and cook multiple servings at a time.
  • Indebted governments face an unenviable menu of options.
  • The sea dragon's disguise helps it stay off another fish's menu.
  • Counting calories today is as easy as checking the label in a grocery store, or perusing the menu in a restaurant.
  • The waiter tells you that the kitchen is out of a certain dish on the menu.
  • Yahoo isn't happy that a detailed menu of the spying services it provides law enforcement agencies has leaked onto the web.
British Dictionary definitions for menu

menu

/ˈmɛnjuː/
noun
1.
a list of dishes served at a meal or that can be ordered in a restaurant
2.
a list of options displayed on a visual display unit from which the operator selects an action to be carried out by positioning the cursor or by depressing the appropriate key
Word Origin
C19: from French menu small, detailed (list), from Latin minūtusminute²
Word Origin and History for menu
n.

1837, from French menu de repas "list of what is served at a meal," from Middle French menu (adj.) "small, detailed" (11c.), from Latin minutus "small," literally "made smaller," past participle of minuere "to diminish," from root of minus "to diminish" (see minus). Computer usage is from 1967, from expanded sense of "any detailed list," first attested 1889.

menu in Technology
operating system
A list from which the user may select an operation to be performed. This is often done with a mouse or other pointing device under a graphical user interface but may also be controlled from the keyboard.
Menus are very convenient for beginners because they show what commands are available and make experimentating with a new program easy, often reducing the need for user documentation. Experienced users however, often prefer keyboard commands, especially for frequently user operations, because they are faster to use. In situations such as text entry where the keyboard must be used anyway, having to move your hand to the mouse to invoke a menu operation is slow.
There are many different ways of presenting menus but the most common are the menu bar (with pull-down menus) and the context-sensitive menu.
The term "menu" tends to be reserved for a list of actions or global options, whereas a "list box" or other graphical widget might present any kind of choice.
See also menuitis.
(1994-12-02)