waiter (historical term)
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
waiter (in a restaurant, historical term)
archaicThis term was commonly used before the mid-20th century to refer to restaurant waitstaff. It carries a historical or period flavor and is rarely used in modern contexts, where '服务员' (fú wù yuán) is standard. The '儿的' (ér de) ending is a northern dialect feature indicating a person with a certain role.
Mín民
guó国
shí时
qī期
de的
lǎo老
chá茶
guǎn馆
lǐ里
，
pǎo跑
táng堂
r儿
•的
de提
tí着
zhe大
dà茶
chá壶
hú穿
chuān梭
suō在
zài客
kè人
rén之
zhī间
。
In old teahouses from the Republican era, the waiters would weave between customers carrying large teapots.
Tā他
yé爷
ye爷
nián年
qīng轻
de的
shí时
hòu候
，
zài在
fàn饭
zhuāng庄
lǐ里
dāng当
guò过
pǎo跑
táng堂
r儿
•的
。
His grandfather worked as a waiter in a restaurant when he was young.
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Zhè这
lǎo老
fàn饭
diàn店
hái还
bǎo保
liú留
zhe着
ràng让
pǎo跑
táng堂
r儿
•的
de唱
chàng菜
cài名
míng的
de传
chuán统
。
This old restaurant still preserves the tradition of having the waiters call out the names of the dishes.