Plural / 3rd person of waiter. Showing the entry for waiter.
waiter
wai·ter
noun
a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
a person who waits or awaits
Origin
From late 14th century Middle English waiter, wayter (“attendant, watchman”). By surface analysis, wait + -er. Sense of "servant who waits at tables" is from late 15th century, originally in reference to household servants; in reference to inns, eating houses, etc., it is attested from 1660s. Feminine form waitress first recorded 1834. The London Stock Exchange sense harks back to the early days of trading in coffee-shops.
Phrases
- coast waiter
- drinks waiter
- landing waiter
- quarter waiter
- tide waiter
- wine waiter
Related words
Broader terms
Narrower terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.