- A list of the dishes to be served or available for a meal. - The dishes served or available at a meal. - A list of available options, especially as displayed on a screen. Origin of menuFrench small, minute, menu fromOld French menut small fromLatin minūtus past participle of minuere to diminish; see mei-2in Indo-European roots. Word History: Menucan be traced back to the Latin word minūtus,meaning “small in size, amount, or degree” and also “possessing or involving minute knowledge.” Latin minūtusbecame Old French menutand 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.- The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.- A printed list of dishes offered in a restaurant.- (computing) A list from which the user may select an operation to be performed, often done with a mouse or other pointing device under a graphical user interface, but usually also controllable from the keyboard. Borrowing from French menu.