buffet

Other forms: buffeted; buffeting; buffets

When you see the word buffet, it's hard not to think "all-you-can-eat." Although the noun can refer to food set out for self-service, buffet also means "a blow, especially with the hand" or, as a verb, "to strike sharply."

The two meanings of buffet come from very different sources. The self-serve meal buffet — from 18th-century French and pronounced buh-FAY — is named after a piece of furniture, bufet ("sideboard"), on which such a meal might be served. The meaning of hitting, however, comes from the Old French word bufe, "a blow" or "a puff of wind," and is pronounced BUH-fit. If the wind buffets the windows of your house, it can make them rattle in their frames, and if you are buffeted by bad news, you might shake in your shoes.

Definitions of buffet

1. noun

   a piece of furniture that stands at the side of a dining room; has shelves and drawers
   synonyms: counter, sideboard

   types:

   credence, credenza

   a kind of sideboard or buffet

   cellaret, minibar

   sideboard with compartments for holding bottles

   type of:

   article of furniture, furniture, piece of furniture

   furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
2. noun

   a meal set out on a buffet at which guests help themselves
   types:

   smorgasbord

   an assortment of foods starting with herring or smoked eel or salmon etc with bread and butter; then cheeses and eggs and pickled vegetables and aspics; finally hot foods; served as a buffet meal

   type of:

   meal, repast

   the food served and eaten at one time
3. noun

   usually inexpensive bar
   synonyms: snack bar, snack counter

   types:

   commissary

   a snack bar in a film studio

   milk bar

   snack bar that sells milk drinks and light refreshments (such as ice cream)

   type of:

   bar

   a counter where you can obtain food or drink