Wiktionary

buffet

See also: Buffet

English

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Jean-Louis Forain, The Buffet, 1884

Etymology 1

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    Inherited from Middle English buffet (“stool”), from Middle French buffet (“side table”), from Old French buffet, of unknown origin. The modern pronunciation is remodelled after modern French buffet.

    Alternative forms

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    Pronunciation

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    • (UK) enPR: bo͝o'fā, bŭ'fā; IPA(key): /ˈbʊf.eɪ/, /ˈbʌf.eɪ/
    • (US) enPR: bəfā', IPA(key): /bəˈfeɪ/, /bʌˈfeɪ/
      • Audio (US):(file)
    • (India) IPA(key): /ˈbə.feː/, /bəˈfeː/, /ˈbʊ.feː/, /bʊˈfeː/
    • Rhymes: (US) -eɪ

    Noun

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    buffet (plural buffets)

    1. A counter or sideboard from which food and drinks are served or may be bought.
      Synonyms: sideboard, smorgasbord, (obsolete) cupboard
      • 1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 9:
        They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.
    2. Food laid out in this way, to which diners serve themselves.
      Synonyms: buffet meal, smorgasbord
      We'll be serving supper buffet style.
      • 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 312:
        "We got a big buffet coming up soon. Bacon, eggs, fresh fruit you wouldn't believe."
    3. A small low stool; a hassock.
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Etymology 2

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      From Middle English buffet (“buffet”), from Old French buffet, diminutive of buffe, cognate with Italian buffetto. See buffer, buffoon, and compare German puffen (“to jostle, to hustle”).

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      buffet (countable and uncountable, plural buffets)

      1. (countable) A blow or cuff with or as if with the hand, or by any other solid object or the wind.
        Synonyms: blow, (by any solid object) collision, (with the hand) cuff
      2. (aviation, uncountable) The vibration of an aircraft when flying in or approaching a stall, caused by separation of airflow from the aircraft's wings.
        • 1979 December 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “Aircraft and Flightcrew Performance”, in Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc., DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979‎[1], archived from the original on 17 August 2022, page 54:
          The aircraft configuration was such that there was little or no warning of the stall onset. The inboard slats were extended, and therefore, the flow separation from the stall would be limited to the outboard segment of the left wing and would not be felt by the left horizontal stabilizer. There would be little or no buffet. The DFDR also indicated that there was some turbulence, which could have masked any aerodynamic buffeting. Since the roll to the left began at V2 + 6 and since the pilots were aware that V2 was well above the aircraft's stall speed, they probably did not suspect that the roll to the left indicated a stall. In fact, the roll probably confused them, especially since the stickshaker had not activated.
      Derived terms
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      Etymology 3

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        From Middle English buffeten, from Old French buffeter, from the noun (see above).

        Pronunciation

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        • enPR: bŭfʹĭt, IPA(key): /ˈbʌf.ɪt/, /ˈbʌf.ət/

        Verb

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        buffet (third-person singular simple present buffets, present participle buffeting or (rare) buffetting, simple past and past participle buffeted or (rare) buffetted)

        1. (transitive) To strike with a buffet; to cuff; to slap.
        2. (transitive, figurative) To aggressively challenge, denounce, or criticise.
          Synonym: batter
          • 1977 August 20, Robert Etherington, “John Horne Burns and His Enemies”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 7, page 10:
            Is Burns obscure because he was gay and therefore ignorable until the Gay Rights Movement began? Or does he largely deserve his neglect? An answer requires that one examine not only Burns' books, but also the critical environment in which he was much buffeted — which, we are told, drove him to an early grave.
          • 2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, “British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 May 2013:
            Buffeted by criticism of his policy on Europe, battered by rebellion in the ranks over his bill to legalize same-sex marriage and wounded by the perception that he is supercilious, contemptuous and out of touch with mainstream Conservatism, Mr. Cameron earlier this week took the highly unusual step of sending a mass e-mail (or, as he called it, “a personal note”) to his party’s grass-roots members.
        3. To affect as with blows; to strike repeatedly; to strive with or contend against.
          Synonym: batter
          to buffet the billows
          • 1726, William Broome, epistle to Elijah Fenton:
            The sudden hurricane in thunder roars, / Buffets the bark, and whirls it from the shores.
          • 1830, Joseph Plumb Martin, “Ch. I”, in A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier:
            [...] I buffetted heat and mosquetoes, and got the hay all up [...]
          • 1887, William Black, “A Keepsake”, in Sabina Zembra […], volume III, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 146:
            You are lucky fellows who can live in a dreamland of your own, instead of being buffeted about the world—
          • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 288:
            Atlantic gales constantly buffet Morwenstow, whose seven hamlets together constitute Cornwall's most northerly parish. The village is dotted with trees moulded into weird shapes by the wind, and above the trees rise the vicarage chimneystacks resembling miniature church towers.
        4. To deaden the sound of (bells) by muffling the clapper.
        5. (intransitive) To struggle, contend; also in figurative or extended use: to move as if driven by force.
        Translations
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        Further reading

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        Chinese

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        Alternative forms

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        Etymology

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        From English buffet.

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        buffet

        1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) buffet
          食buffet [Cantonese]  ―  sik6 pou6 fei1 [Jyutping]  ―  to have a buffet meal

        Synonyms

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        Dialectal synonyms of 自助餐 (“buffet”) [map]
        Variety Location Words
        Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 自助餐
        Northeastern Mandarin Taiwan 自助餐, 吃到飽, buffet
        Singapore 自助餐
        Cantonese Hong Kong buffet, 自助餐, 任食, 放題 Japanese
        Wu Shanghai 自助餐

        Finnish

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        Etymology

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        From French buffet.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /ˈbufeː/, [ˈbufe̞ː]
        • IPA(key): /ˈbyfeː/, [ˈbyfe̞ː]
        • IPA(key): /ˈbyfːeː/, [ˈbyfːe̞ː]
        • IPA(key): /ˈbufːetːi/, [ˈbufːe̞t̪ːi] (colloquial)
        • Rhymes: -ufeː

        Noun

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        buffet

        1. buffet

        Usage notes

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        The endings of the alternative, somewhat Finnicized forms buffetti and especially bufetti better fit the structure of Finnish.

        Most Finns don't know that the letter t in the form buffet is silent (and that the letter u is pronounced [y]) and are not sure how to decline this form because no native Finnish nouns end in -et in the singular. They therefore consciously or unconsciously change the ending in the nominative to the more Finnish ending -tti in speaking, despite the fact that the French pronunciation (with [y] and silent t) is the only one listed in the Kielitoimiston sanakirja.

        Some Finns have trouble pronouncing the sound [b] and many the sound [f], so the completely Finnicized form puhvetti is in fact widespread in speech even though the spelling buffetti is the most common.

        Declension

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        Inflection of buffet (Kotus type 22/parfait, no gradation)
        nominative buffet buffet’t
        genitive buffet’n buffet’iden
        buffet’itten
        partitive buffet’tä buffet’itä
        illative buffet’hen buffet’ihin
        singular plural
        nominative buffet buffet’t
        accusative nom. buffet buffet’t
        gen. buffet’n
        genitive buffet’n buffet’iden
        buffet’itten
        partitive buffet’tä buffet’itä
        inessive buffet’ssä buffet’issä
        elative buffet’stä buffet’istä
        illative buffet’hen buffet’ihin
        adessive buffet’llä buffet’illä
        ablative buffet’ltä buffet’iltä
        allative buffet’lle buffet’ille
        essive buffet’nä buffet’inä
        translative buffet’ksi buffet’iksi
        abessive buffet’ttä buffet’ittä
        instructive — buffet’in
        comitative See the possessive forms below.
        Possessive forms of buffet (Kotus type 22/parfait, no gradation)
        first-person singular possessor
        singular plural
        nominative buffet’ni buffet’ni
        accusative nom. buffet’ni buffet’ni
        gen. buffet’ni
        genitive buffet’ni buffet’ideni
        buffet’itteni
        partitive buffet’täni buffet’itäni
        inessive buffet’ssäni buffet’issäni
        elative buffet’stäni buffet’istäni
        illative buffet’heni buffet’ihini
        adessive buffet’lläni buffet’illäni
        ablative buffet’ltäni buffet’iltäni
        allative buffet’lleni buffet’illeni
        essive buffet’näni buffet’inäni
        translative buffet’kseni buffet’ikseni
        abessive buffet’ttäni buffet’ittäni
        instructive — —
        comitative — buffet’ineni
        second-person singular possessor
        singular plural
        nominative buffet’si buffet’si
        accusative nom. buffet’si buffet’si
        gen. buffet’si
        genitive buffet’si buffet’idesi
        buffet’ittesi
        partitive buffet’täsi buffet’itäsi
        inessive buffet’ssäsi buffet’issäsi
        elative buffet’stäsi buffet’istäsi
        illative buffet’hesi buffet’ihisi
        adessive buffet’lläsi buffet’illäsi
        ablative buffet’ltäsi buffet’iltäsi
        allative buffet’llesi buffet’illesi
        essive buffet’näsi buffet’inäsi
        translative buffet’ksesi buffet’iksesi
        abessive buffet’ttäsi buffet’ittäsi
        instructive — —
        comitative — buffet’inesi
        first-person plural possessor
        singular plural
        nominative buffet’mme buffet’mme
        accusative nom. buffet’mme buffet’mme
        gen. buffet’mme
        genitive buffet’mme buffet’idemme
        buffet’ittemme
        partitive buffet’tämme buffet’itämme
        inessive buffet’ssämme buffet’issämme
        elative buffet’stämme buffet’istämme
        illative buffet’hemme buffet’ihimme
        adessive buffet’llämme buffet’illämme
        ablative buffet’ltämme buffet’iltämme
        allative buffet’llemme buffet’illemme
        essive buffet’nämme buffet’inämme
        translative buffet’ksemme buffet’iksemme
        abessive buffet’ttämme buffet’ittämme
        instructive — —
        comitative — buffet’inemme
        second-person plural possessor
        singular plural
        nominative buffet’nne buffet’nne
        accusative nom. buffet’nne buffet’nne
        gen. buffet’nne
        genitive buffet’nne buffet’idenne
        buffet’ittenne
        partitive buffet’tänne buffet’itänne
        inessive buffet’ssänne buffet’issänne
        elative buffet’stänne buffet’istänne
        illative buffet’henne buffet’ihinne
        adessive buffet’llänne buffet’illänne
        ablative buffet’ltänne buffet’iltänne
        allative buffet’llenne buffet’illenne
        essive buffet’nänne buffet’inänne
        translative buffet’ksenne buffet’iksenne
        abessive buffet’ttänne buffet’ittänne
        instructive — —
        comitative — buffet’inenne
        third-person possessor
        singular plural
        nominative buffet’nsä buffet’nsä
        accusative nom. buffet’nsä buffet’nsä
        gen. buffet’nsä
        genitive buffet’nsä buffet’idensä
        buffet’ittensä
        partitive buffet’tään
        buffet’tänsä         		buffet’itään
        buffet’itänsä
        inessive buffet’ssään
        buffet’ssänsä         		buffet’issään
        buffet’issänsä
        elative buffet’stään
        buffet’stänsä         		buffet’istään
        buffet’istänsä
        illative buffet’hensä buffet’ihinsä
        adessive buffet’llään
        buffet’llänsä         		buffet’illään
        buffet’illänsä
        ablative buffet’ltään
        buffet’ltänsä         		buffet’iltään
        buffet’iltänsä
        allative buffet’lleen
        buffet’llensä         		buffet’illeen
        buffet’illensä
        essive buffet’nään
        buffet’nänsä         		buffet’inään
        buffet’inänsä
        translative buffet’kseen
        buffet’ksensä         		buffet’ikseen
        buffet’iksensä
        abessive buffet’ttään
        buffet’ttänsä         		buffet’ittään
        buffet’ittänsä
        instructive — —
        comitative — buffet’ineen
        buffet’inensä

        Derived terms

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        compounds

        Further reading

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        French

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        Etymology

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        Inherited from Middle French bufet (1150), from Old French bufet, of uncertain origin; possibly a Celtic borrowing. Compare Scottish Gaelic biadh (“food, sustenance”), buadha (“valuable, precious”).[1][2] Or, according to the Digitized Treasury of the French Language, from an imitative source akin to bouffer (“to eat (in excess)”).

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        buffet m (plural buffets)

        1. sideboard, dresser (a piece of furniture)
          Synonym: crédence
        2. buffet (food)
        3. (slang) belly
          Synonym: ventre

        Derived terms

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        Descendants

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        References

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        1. ^ Mackay, Charles (1877): The Gaelic Etymology of the Languages of Western Europe: And More Especially of the English and Lowland Scotch, and Their Slang, Cant, and Colloquial Dialects, p. 58
        2. ^ Macleod, Norman (1887): A Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, in Two Parts: I. Gaelic and English.—II. English and Gaelic, p. 96

        Further reading

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        Italian

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        Etymology

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        Unadapted borrowing from French buffet.

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        buffet m (invariable)

        1. (furniture) sideboard
          Synonym: dispensa
        2. buffet, refreshment bar

        References

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        1. ^ buffet in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

        Further reading

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        • “buffet”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

        Middle English

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        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /buˈfɛt/, /ˈbufɛt/

        Etymology 1

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          Borrowed from Old French bufet, buffet, diminutive of buffe.

          Alternative forms

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          Noun

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          buffet (plural buffettes)

          1. A buffet (strike or blow, especially with one's hand).
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          Descendants
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          References
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          Etymology 2

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            Borrowed from Middle French bufet (“side table”), from Old French bufet, of unknown origin.

            Alternative forms

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            Noun

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            buffet

            1. (Late Middle English) stool
              • 15th c., “Coliphizacio [The Buffeting]”, in Wakefield Mystery Plays; Re-edited in George England, Alfred W. Pollard, editors, The Towneley Plays (Early English Text Society Extra Series; LXXI), London: […] Oxford University Press, 1897, →OCLC, page 239:
                primus tortor. we shall teche hym, I wote / a new play of yoyll,
                And hold hym full hote / frawrord, a stoyll
                Go fetch vs!
                ffroward. We, dote! / now els were it doyll
                And vnneth;
                ffor the wo that he shall dre
                let hym knele on his kne.
                Secundus tortor. And so shall he for me;
                Go fetch vs a light buffit.
                First torturer: We shall teach him, I say, a new Christmas-time game, and treat him very hotly—Froward, go fetch us a stool!
                Froward: Whoa! Fool! We wouldn't want this to be painful and difficult. For the sake of the pain that he shall dread, let him kneel.
                Second torturer: And he shall [dread it] on my account. Go fetch us a light stool.
            Descendants
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            References
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            Norwegian Bokmål

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            Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
            Wikipedia no

            Alternative forms

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            Etymology

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            From French buffet.

            Noun

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            buffet m (definite singular buffeten, indefinite plural buffeter, definite plural buffetene)

            1. sideboard or buffet (US) (dining room furniture containing table linen and services)
            2. buffet (counter or room where refreshments are sold)
            3. stående buffet - buffet (a meal which guests can serve themselves)

            Norwegian Nynorsk

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            Alternative forms

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            Etymology

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            From French buffet.

            Noun

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            buffet m (definite singular buffeten, indefinite plural buffetar, definite plural buffetane)

            1. sideboard or buffet (US) (dining room furniture containing table linen and services)
            2. buffet (a counter or room where refreshments are sold)
            3. ståande buffet - buffet (a meal which guests can serve themselves)

            Portuguese

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            Etymology

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              Unadapted borrowing from French buffet.

              Noun

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              buffet m (plural buffets)

              1. alternative form of bufê

              Further reading

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              Spanish

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              Alternative forms

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              Etymology

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                Unadapted borrowing from French buffet. Doublet of bufete.

                Pronunciation

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                • IPA(key): /biˈfe/ [biˈfe], /buˈfe/ [buˈfe]
                • Rhymes: -e

                Noun

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                buffet m (plural buffets)

                1. buffet

                Usage notes

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                According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

                Further reading

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