server
Pluralservers
- 1A person who takes orders and brings food and drinks to customers in a restaurant.
The server recommended the daily special and took our drink orders.
Two servers handled the entire dining room during the lunch rush.
Similarwaiter, waitress, waitperson
Note
In restaurant work the old meaning of "one who serves" is at its most literal. A single word covers both waitress and waiter, so it needs no choice of gender. It also names the job by the act of serving rather than by waiting. That is how a manager can say "two servers" for a mixed pair of staff.
- 2A computer dedicated to running programs that provide services to other computers or devices.
The website runs on a server located in a data center overseas.
Administrators rebooted the server after installing the update.
Similarhost
Oppositeclient
Note
Here the word is a physical box, and English treats it as a place. Websites and data live on a server, files are stored on it, and it sits somewhere, perhaps in a data center overseas. Jonathan Freedland, writing in The Guardian in 2013, describes our secrets as sprayed into "the public ether" where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope.
- 3Software that handles requests and provides services for other programs or devices, which may run on the same machine or connect to it over a network.
Developers wrote a small server to handle login requests from the mobile app.
The mail server forwards each message to the correct recipient's program.
Similarservice
Oppositeclient
Note
Middle English servere, simply serve plus -er, is here put to work on software. Its natural partner is client: the client asks, the server answers, and the pairing describes how many networked programs divide their labor. In compounds the job comes first, as in a mail server or a login server. Context usually decides whether the word means the program or the machine that runs it.
- 4The player who puts the ball into play by serving, as in tennis or volleyball.
The server faulted twice and lost the point.
A strong server can dominate a whole volleyball match.
Oppositereceiver
Note
In sport the word names a role rather than a fixed position. Whoever puts the ball into play is the server for that point. In tennis and volleyball the word pairs naturally with the vocabulary of the serve: a server faults, holds or loses the point, and a strong server can dominate a match.
- 5An online community space where only people who have joined can talk in its channels.
He set up a server where the club could share files and chat.
Moderators banned the spammer from the server within minutes.
Note
This is a platform's own coinage. Discord's 2020 Beginner's Guide describes an invite-only home for friends or a community and says, "We call these special places - servers." The word was borrowed from the computer sense, but it now names a social space. People create a server, talk in its channels, and get banned from it.
- 6A large spoon used for serving food onto plates or dishes.
He scooped the casserole onto each plate with a wide server.
The servers were laid out beside each serving dish on the table.
- 7A tray used for holding or carrying dishes.
The waiter balanced a server stacked with dessert plates.
He set the teapot down on a polished wooden server.
Similarsalver
- 8A person who assists the priest during the celebration of the Eucharist.
The server handed the priest the chalice during the Eucharist.
Two servers walked ahead of the procession carrying lit candles.
Similaracolyte
Note
Church usage keeps the older sense of service as attendance on someone. When context leaves any doubt, the fuller altar server makes the meaning plain. Acolyte names the same role and suits more formal or liturgical writing, where it avoids any clash with the restaurant or computing senses.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English servere, equivalent to serve combined with the suffix -er.