restaurant meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

restaurant

noun

UK /ˈɹɛst(ə)ɹɒnt/ · US /ˈɹɛst(ə)ˌɹɑnt/

Etymology Borrowed from French restaurant, present participle of the verb restaurer, corresponding to Latin restaurans, restaurantis, present participle of restauro (“to restore”), from the name of the 'restorative' soup served in the first establishments.

An eating establishment in which diners are served food, usually by waiters at their tables but sometimes (as in a fast food restaurant) at a counter.

That Italian restaurant serves some of the best food I've ever had in my life.
By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:

Synonyms: automat, beanery, buffet, cafeteria, caff, canteen, cookhouse, cookshack, diner, dining hall, eatery, hashery, hotel, luncheonette, lunchroom, noshery, restaurant
Antonyms: carryout, fast food restaurant, takeaway, takeout
Derived terms: 31 terms
barstaurant, breastaurant, bustaurant, Chinese restaurant process, Chinese restaurant syndrome, clubstaurant, family restaurant, ghost restaurant, grocerant, HORECA, HoReCa, impresstaurant, multirestaurant, nonrestaurant, one-arm restaurant, overhead bridge restaurant, overhead restaurant, restaurant car, restauranteer, restauranteur, restaurantgoer, restaurant-goer, restaurantish, restaurantland, restaurantware, restauranty, restaurateur, resto, restobar, restopub, tiki restaurant
Related terms: restaurateur, bar, cook, chef, drive-in, fast food, grill, menu, slow food, waiter, waitress, waitron, all-you-can-eat, chuck wagon, could I see the menu, please, front of house, lady who lunches, the bill, café, pub
Hypernyms: building, business, eating establishment, establishment, enterprise
Hyponyms: dining car, drive-in, gastropub, hash house, hole-in-the-wall, bistro, curry house, chophouse, greasy spoon, grill, grillroom, pizza parlor, pizza shop, pizza store, pizzeria, steakhouse, trattoria, chow hall, mess hall, messroom, refectory
Holonyms: food court
Meronyms: 26 terms
dining room, kitchen, lunch counter, chef, cook, cordon bleu, dishwasher, hash slinger, maître d', restauranteur, server, sommelier, sous-chef, waiter, waitress, waitstaff, chair, fork, glass, knife, menu, house wine, plate, spoon, table, wine list