Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who serves at a table, as in a restaurant.
- noun A tray or salver.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A watcher.
- noun A watchman; a guard or keeper.
- noun One who waits; one who abides in expectation of the happening of some event, the arrival of some appointed time, some opportunity, or the like.
- noun A domestic servant.
- noun A waiting-woman.
- noun A man-servant who waits at table: applied more commonly to those who serve in hotels or restaurants.
- noun An officer in the employ of the British custom-house. See coast-waiter, tide-waiter.
- noun A tray; a salver.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who, or that which, waits; an attendant; a servant in attendance, esp. at table.
- noun A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver.
- noun See under
Coast , n.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A male or sometimes female attendant who serves customers in a restaurant, cafe or similar.
- noun literally Someone who
waits for somebody or something, a person who iswaiting , the one waiting.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who waits or awaits
- noun a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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WHEN WE THINK of the apostles—those stalwart disciples of Jesus—the word waiter usually does not immediately come to mind.
Saints & Scoundrels of the Bible Linda Chaffee Taylor 2008
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WHEN WE THINK of the apostles—those stalwart disciples of Jesus—the word waiter usually does not immediately come to mind.
Saints & Scoundrels of the Bible Linda Chaffee Taylor 2008
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Currently, every coachman and every waiter is debating whether relativity theory is correct.
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The waiter is named Jorge, but this is a coincidence.
This Is My Letter To The World yuki_onna 2010
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Currently, every coachman and every waiter is debating whether relativity theory is correct.
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I called a waiter over and asked him to get Bria from the kitchen.
Recipe for Love Shamara Ray 2011
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“Emily,”, her friend replied, “that waiter is speaking Spanish.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Arabic Language Expertise in the Military 2010
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Being coloured means the waiter is surprised at the small/modest/large tip you give.
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I called a waiter over and asked him to get Bria from the kitchen.
Recipe for Love Shamara Ray 2011
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Somehow, I doubt that you are reading restaurant websites while the waiter is trying to take your order so that you can fully understand the calories/fat/sodium/etc content of what you are going to order.
oroboros commented on the word waiter
Contronymic in the sense: active server vs. inaction, biding time.
January 27, 2007
michaelt42 commented on the word waiter
Jeeves was a butler rather than a waiter, but the equally celebrated Sam Weller appears to have worked in the latter capacity before he became Samuel Pickwick's manservant and started entertaining that distinguished gentleman with his Wellerisms.
January 30, 2012