maître d'hôtel

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French maître d’hôtel.

Noun

maître d'hôtel (plural maîtres d'hôtel)

1. Synonym of maître d' (“headwaiter”).
   • 1866, Alexandre Dumas, Memoires of a Maître D'armes; Or, Eighteen Months at St. Petersburg, page 106:

     After the first course, the maître d'hôtel came in, holding a silver dish, on which were two fish, which I did not recognise.

   • 1920, The Hotel World: The Hotel and Travelers Journal, volume 90, page 47:

     Julius Vanice, the maitre d'hotel of the Pennsylvania, New York City, came to that position from the Detroit Statler.

   • 1953 March 28, Joseph Wechsberg, “Profiles: The Ambassador in the Sanctuary”, in The New Yorker, volume XXIX, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40:

     [Henri] Soulé had decided to keep the Pavillon open, after a fashion, by closing down the salle and serving meals only in the bar and the nouvelle salle, with the help of the non-striking members of his staff—two maîtres d’hôtel, twenty-two chefs and cooks, the cashier, the hat-check girl, and a pantryman.

   • 2011, Barbara Ketcham Wheaton, Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789, page 102:

     The staff for both cuisine and office were hired and fired by maitre d'hôtel.

Derived terms

• maître d' (clipping)

French

Etymology

From maître +‎ de +‎ hôtel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛ.tʁə d‿o.tɛl/, /me.tʁə d‿o.tɛl/

Noun

maître d’hôtel m (plural maîtres d’hôtel)

1. the person in charge of the team of waiters in a restaurant or hotel
2. a headwaiter; major-domo

Descendants

• → English: maître d'hôtel ⇒ maître d' (US)
• → Russian: метрдоте́ль (metrdotɛ́lʹ)

See also

• barman
• serveur