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Barista vs Waiter - What's the difference?

barista | waiter |

As nouns the difference between barista and waiter

is that barista is a person who serves behind the counter in a coffee shop while waiter is a male or sometimes female attendant who serves customers in a restaurant, café or similar.

barista

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person who serves behind the counter in a coffee shop.
  • Usage notes

    * , in Italian, is of common gender. For English speakers cursorily familiar with Italian grammar, it may appear feminine on first encounter, as evidenced by the existence of the hypercorrect derivation baristo, intended as its masculine counterpart.

    Derived terms

    * baristo (hypercorrect masculine form)

    waiter

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A male or sometimes female attendant who or similar.
  • * , title=The Mirror and the Lamp
  • , chapter=2 citation , passage=She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=5 citation , passage=A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed.
      ‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’}}
  • (literally) Someone who waits for somebody or something; a person who is waiting.
  • (obsolete) A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver.
  • Derived terms

    * landwaiter * tide waiter

    See also

    * barista * bartender * * server

    References