Waiter vs Waster - What's the difference?
waiter | waster |
A male or sometimes female attendant who or similar.
* , title=The Mirror and the Lamp
, chapter=2 * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=5
‘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.
Someone or something that wastes; someone who squanders or spends extravagantly.
(dialectal) An imperfection in the wick of a candle, causing it to waste.
(obsolete, chiefly, fencing) A kind of cudgel; also, a blunt-edged sword used as a foil.
*, II.3.6:
As nouns the difference between waiter and waster
is that waiter is a male or sometimes female attendant who serves customers in a restaurant, café or similar while waster is someone or something that wastes; someone who squanders or spends extravagantly.waiter
English
Noun
(en noun)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.}}
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.’}}
Derived terms
* landwaiter * tide waiterSee also
* barista * bartender * * serverReferences
waster
English
Etymology 1
Partly from (etyl) wastere, wastour, partly from .Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* See alsoDerived terms
* time-wasterEtymology 2
Origin unknown.Noun
(en noun)- Or, as they that play at wasters exercise themselves by a few cudgels how to avoid an enemy's blows, let us arm ourselves against all such violent incursions which may invade our minds.