waiter

== English == === Etymology === 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. === Pronunciation === (non-rhotic) (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈweɪ̯təː/, [ˈweɪ̯tʰəː] (Australian) (without t-flapping) IPA(key): /ˈwæɪ̯təː/, [ˈwæ̝ɪ̯tʰəː] ~ [ˈwæ̝ɪ̯tʰɐ̝ː] (t-flapping) IPA(key): /ˈwæɪ̯ɾəː/, [ˈwæ̝ɪ̯ɾəː] ~ [ˈwæ̝ɪ̯ɾɐ̝ː] (rhotic) (General American) (without t-flapping) IPA(key): /ˈweɪ̯tɚ/, [ˈweɪ̯tʰɚ] ~ [ˈweɪ̯tʰɹ̩] (t-flapping) IPA(key): /ˈweɪ̯ɾɚ/, [ˈweɪ̯ɾɚ] ~ [ˈweɪ̯ɾɹ̩] Rhymes: -eɪtə(ɹ) Hyphenation: wait‧er === Noun === waiter (plural waiters) A male or female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar. Someone who waits for somebody or something; a person who is waiting. (historical) A person working as an attendant at the London Stock Exchange. (obsolete) A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver. (See etymology of dumbwaiter.) (obsolete) A custom house officer; a tide waiter. (obsolete) A watchman. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== wait waitress ==== Descendants ==== → Bengali: ওয়েটার (ōẇeṭar) → Hindi: वेटर (veṭar) → Japanese: ウエーター (uētā) → Korean: 웨이터 (weiteo) → Urdu: ویٹر (vēṭar) ==== Translations ==== === Verb === waiter (third-person singular simple present waiters, present participle waitering, simple past and past participle waitered) (stative) To work as a waiter. ==== Coordinate terms ==== waitress === See also === barista bartender maître d' server === References === == Old French == === Verb === waiter (Old Northern French, Anglo-Norman) alternative form of gaitier ==== Conjugation ==== This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-ts, *-tt are modified to z, t. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide. === References === Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “waiter”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.