Translation
waiter
Word origin
From German Kellner, from Keller, a cellar, which goes back to Latin cellarium, the store room, from cella. The Kellner was originally the man who went down to the cellar for the wine, and only later the man who brought it to your table.
- Origin
- German
- Root
- Kellner
- English cognates
- cellar, cell
Examples
.
The waiter carried two glasses of wine.
.
We ordered dinner from the young waiter.
.
The waiter put the plates on the table.
One of the small number of roots Zamenhof took from German rather than from the Romance stock, and you can hear it: , not garsono or servitoro. German was one of the languages he had in the room, and where a German word was already international enough he used it.
The etymology pays for itself, because it ties three words in this chapter together. Kellner is built on Keller, a cellar, and Keller comes from Latin cellarium, from cella, a small room. So the waiter, the cellar (kelo) and the biological cell (ĉelo) are all the same Latin room seen from different doorways. Learn them as a set and none of them will slip.
o is a waitress, using the ordinary -in- feminine suffix, and modern usage will often just say for anyone doing the job. To call one over you say , ! - the same "please" formula Esperanto uses for every polite request. And what you do at the table is mendi, to order.
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kelnero: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "kelnero" (waiter): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 39.