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cafeteria

 - 4 dictionary results

caf⋅e⋅te⋅ri⋅a

  [kaf-i-teer-ee-uh]
Use cafeteria in a Sentence
–noun
1. a restaurant in which patrons wait on themselves, carrying their food to tables from counters where it is displayed and served.
2. a lunchroom or dining hall, as in a factory, office, or school, where food is served from counters or dispensed from vending machines or where food brought from home may be eaten.
Origin:
1830–40, Americanism; < AmerSp cafetería café, equiv. to Sp cafeter(a) coffeemaker (< F caf(f)etière; café coffee + -ière, fem. of -ier -ier 2 ; t appar. by analogy with words such as bouquetière flower seller, from bases ending in t) + -ía -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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caf·e·te·ri·a   (kāf'ĭ-tîr'ē-ə)   
n.  

  1. A restaurant in which the customers are served at a counter and carry their meals on trays to tables.

  2. A dining area, as at a school or office building, where meals may be purchased or brought from home and eaten.


[Spanish cafetería, coffee shop, cafeteria, from café, coffee, from Ottoman Turkish qahveh; see coffee.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cafeteria 
1839, Amer.Eng. from Mexican Sp. cafeteria "coffee store." The ending -teria in this word came to be popularly understood as meaning "help-yourself" (as though café + -teria and was extended to new formation with that sense from c.1923.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

cafeteria

self-service restaurant in which customers select various dishes from an open-counter display. The food is usually placed on a tray, paid for at a cashier's station, and carried to a dining table by the customer. The modern cafeteria, designed to facilitate a smooth flow of patrons, is particularly well-adapted to the needs of institutions-schools, hospitals, corporations-attempting to serve large numbers of people efficiently and inexpensively. In addition to providing quick service, the cafeteria requires fewer service personnel than most other commercial eating establishments.

Learn more about cafeteria with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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