Waitperson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A professional who provides service by taking and delivering orders of food and drinks to customers in various dining environments
2. An individual who attends to diners by taking their orders and bringing food and beverages to their tables
3. Someone employed in a dining setting to receive requests from patrons and serve meals and drinks

Etymology: "Waitperson" is a compound of "wait" and "person," the second part being the familiar English word for a human being. The first part is the verb "wait," in its older sense of attending on someone, as in a servant who waits upon a household or table. That sense is the one behind "waiter," which predates it by a long stretch. The compound is recent and was created to avoid gendered language. It arose because "waitress" had long been the standard feminine form, and writers and employers wanted a gender-neutral alternative that paired with "waiter" without implying a male default. The form follows the pattern of other neutral terms built on "person," such as "chairperson" and "spokesperson," where "person" replaces a gendered suffix or noun.

Synonyms: waiter, server, waitstaff, attendant, host