# waiter

Pronunciation: US say "WAY-tur" /ˈweɪtɚ/; UK say "WAY-tuh" /ˈweɪtə/

## Noun

1. A person employed to serve food and drinks to customers at their tables in a restaurant, café, or similar place.
   - Simple: A person whose job is to bring food and drinks to customers at their tables.
   - _The waiter recommended the grilled fish and a local white wine._
   - _Two waiters carried the heavy trays across the crowded dining room._
2. A person who waits for someone or something, or who is in a state of waiting.
   - Simple: A person who is waiting for someone or something.
   - _As a lifelong waiter for trains that never ran on time, he always carried a book._
   - _The waiters in the lobby glanced at the clock every few minutes._
4. An attendant employed at the London Stock Exchange to carry messages and assist its members.
   - Simple: A helper who worked at the London Stock Exchange, carrying messages between members.
   - _A waiter crossed the floor to deliver the latest prices to the clerk._
   - _The exchange's waiters wore distinctive coats as they moved among the members._

## Verb

3. To work as a server in a restaurant, attending to customers at their tables.
   - Simple: To work bringing food and drinks to people at their tables.
   - _They waiter at the same bistro every weekend during the season._
   - _She waitered through her twenties before opening her own restaurant._

## Noun

5. A tray or vessel on which dishes and other items are carried; a salver. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A tray used for carrying dishes or other items.
   - _A footman entered bearing a waiter laden with glasses._
   - _She placed the letter on a small waiter beside the tea things._
6. A customs officer stationed at a port to inspect arriving goods; a tide waiter. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An officer at a port who checked goods coming off ships to collect taxes.
   - _A waiter examined the manifest as the merchant ship docked at the quay._
   - _The customs waiters recorded every barrel brought ashore that morning._
7. A person employed to keep watch; a watchman. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who kept watch or guarded a place, especially at night.
   - _A waiter called out the hours as he patrolled the sleeping town._
   - _The night waiters reported no disturbance before dawn._

## Origin

From late 14th century Middle English waiter or wayter, meaning "attendant" or "watchman," formed from wait plus -er. The sense of a "servant who waits at tables" dates from the late 15th century, originally referring to household servants and, from the 1660s, to those at inns and eating houses. The feminine form waitress was first recorded in 1834.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/waiter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).