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Webster 1913 Edition

Waiter

Wait′er

,
Noun.
1.
One who, or that which, waits; an attendant; a servant in attendance, esp. at table.
The
waiters
stand in ranks; the yeomen cry,
“Make room,” as if a duke were passing by.
Swift.
2.
A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver.
Coast waiter
.
See under
Coast
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition

Waiter

WAITER

,
Noun.
1.
One who waits; an attendant; a servant in attendance.
The waiters stand in ranks; the yeoman cry, make room, as if a duke were passing by.
2.
A server; a vessel on which tea furniture, &c. is carried.

Definition 2024

waiter

waiter

English

Noun

a waiter

waiter ‎(plural waiters, feminine waitress)

  1. A male or sometimes female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess:
      A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed.
        ‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’
    Waiter! There's a fly in my soup.‎
  2. (literally) Someone who waits for somebody or something; a person who is waiting.
    • 2013, Siciliani Luigi, ‎Borowitz Michael, ‎Moran Valerie, OECD Health Policy Studies: Waiting Time Policies in the Health Sector
      However, the NTPF also contained implicit negative incentives for the public sector by offering alternative private sector treatment for the longest waiters at no extra cost to patients or no penalty to public providers.
  3. (obsolete) A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver.

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/waiter?s=t

Old French

Verb

waiter

  1. (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.

    Conjugation of waiter (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive waiter avoir waité
gerund en waitant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle waitant
past participle waité
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses		 present wait waites waite waitons waitez waitent
imperfect waitoie, waiteie, waitoe, waiteve waitoies, waiteies, waitoes, waiteves waitoit, waiteit, waitot, waiteve waitiiens, waitiens waitiiez, waitiez waitoient, waiteient, waitoent, waitevent
preterite waitai waitas waita waitames waitastes waiterent
future waiterai waiteras waitera waiterons waiteroiz, waitereiz, waiterez waiteront
conditional waiteroie, waitereie waiteroies, waitereies waiteroit, waitereit waiteriiens, waiteriens waiteriiez, waiteriez waiteroient, waitereient
compound
tenses		 present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses		 present wait waiz wait waitons waitez waitent
imperfect waitasse waitasses waitast waitissons, waitissiens waitissoiz, waitissez, waitissiez waitassent
compound
tenses		 past Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— waite — waitons waitez —

References

  • (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (waiter)

Etymology

Late 14th century, "attendant, watchman," agent noun from the verb wait. 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. [1]

Pronunciation

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