Kitchenettes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small kitchen area equipped with basic appliances and limited space for cooking
2. A compact cooking unit often found in studios or shared accommodations
3. A mini kitchen designed for simple meal preparation, typically lacking full-sized appliances

Etymology: "Kitchenettes" is the plural of "kitchenette," a word built from "kitchen" plus the diminutive suffix "-ette." That suffix came into English from French, where "-ette" (ultimately from Latin "-ittus" through Old French) marked something small, so a kitchenette is literally a little kitchen. The suffix has a long record of making things smaller or less grand: "cigarette" is a little cigar, "statuette" a little statue, "majorette" a little majorette-style marcher. Kitchenette follows the same pattern, applying the diminutive to the room or unit where food is prepared.

Synonyms: kitchens