cafeteria

[ kaf-i-teer-ee-uh ]

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.

cafeteria

/ ˌkæfɪˈtɪərɪə /

noun

1. a self-service restaurant

Word History and Origins

Origin of cafeteria¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; from Latin American Spanish cafetería “café,” Spanish cafeter(a) “coffeemaker,” from French caf(f)etière (equivalent to café + etière feminine of -ier ); t apparently by analogy with words such as bouquetière “flower seller,” from bases ending in t ) + -ía; coffee, -ier ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cafeteria¹

C20: from American Spanish: coffee shop

Example Sentences

We have the cafeteria workers’ backs — everybody who works for us and works with us and all the kids and their families.

From Los Angeles Times

After struggling to get paid during the holidays, workers in Nevada occupied the cafeteria and refused to work.

From New York Times

“With each notification of yet another recall — whether it's contaminated prepackaged lunches or potentially unsafe food on the cafeteria menu — your alarm goes through the roof,” Smith wrote via email.

From Salon

The protests against Kellogg's ingredients list come after the passage of the California School Food Safety Act, which bans six artificial food dyes most commonly found in foods served in school cafeterias across the state.

From Salon

And the food-service company that recently introduced an all-vegetarian menu in the San Francisco Unified School District credits students with having "led the way" in asking for less meat in their cafeterias.

From Salon

Related Words

• lunchroom
• snack bar