Waiter

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈweɪtə/

Definitions

1. A person employed at a restaurant to serve food and drinks to customers at their tables
2. A service provider in a restaurant who takes orders, delivers meals, and ensures customer satisfaction while managing dining experiences
3. An individual whose job is to attend to patrons in an eatery by taking their orders, bringing food and beverages, and addressing any needs during their visit

Etymology: The surprising thing about "waiter" is that its earliest sense had nothing to do with food. In the late 14th century, a "waiter" was an attendant or a watchman, someone who stayed alert on duty, and the connection to the verb "wait" in its sense of keeping watch is still visible in the word's shape. Serving at table came later: the sense of a servant who waits on people at a meal was recorded in the late 15th century, and at first it referred to household servants rather than staff in public eating places. The word then moved out into the commercial world. Its use for the staff of inns, eating houses and similar establishments is attested from the 1660s, which is when it took on the meaning most people recognise today. The London Stock Exchange later used the term for a clerk who served as a messenger, and that usage harks back to the early days of trading in coffee-shops.

Synonyms: server, attendant, waitstaff