[kee-osk, kee-osk] 
| 1. | a small structure having one or more sides open, used as a newsstand, refreshment stand, bandstand, etc. |
| 2. | a thick, columnlike structure on which notices, advertisements, etc., are posted. |
| 3. | an interactive computer terminal available for public use, as one with Internet access or site-specific information: Students use kiosks to look up campus events. |
| 4. | an open pavilion or summerhouse common in Turkey and Iran. |
| 5. | British. a telephone booth. |
| ki·osk (kē'ŏsk', kē-ŏsk') n.
[French kiosque, from Turkish köşk, from Middle Persian gōshak, corner, from Avestan *gaoshaka-, diminutive of gaosha-, ear.] Word History: The lowly kiosk where newspapers are sold or advertisements are posted is like a child in a fairy tale raised by humble parents but descended from kings. The word kiosk was originally taken into English from Turkish, in which its source köşk meant "pavilion." The open structures referred to by the Turkish word were used as summerhouses in Turkey and Persia. The first recorded use of kiosk in English (1625) refers to these Middle Eastern pavilions, which Europeans imitated in their own gardens and parks. In France and Belgium, where the Turkish word had also been borrowed, their word kiosque was applied to something lower on the scale, structures resembling these pavilions but used as places to sell newspapers or as bandstands. England borrowed this lowly structure from France and reborrowed the word, which is first recorded in 1865 with reference to a place where newspapers are sold. |
kiosk
A stall set up in a public place where one can obtain information, e.g. tourist information. The information may be provided by a human or by a computer. In the latter case, the data may be stored locally (e.g. on CD-ROM) or accessed via a network using some kind of distributed information retreival system such as Gopher or World-Wide Web.
(1998-09-07)