buffet

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See also: Buffet

English[edit]

Jean-Louis Forain, The Buffet, 1884

Etymology 1[edit]

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[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) enPR: bo͝o'fā, bŭ'fā; IPA(key): /ˈbʊ.feɪ/, /ˈbʌ.feɪ/
  • (US) enPR: bəfā', IPA(key): /bəˈfeɪ/, /bʌˈfeɪ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: (US) -eɪ

Noun[edit]

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, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →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.
  3. A small low stool; a hassock.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • → Japanese: ビュッフェ (byuffe)
  • → Korean: 뷔페 (bwipe)
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2[edit]

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[edit]

  • enPR: bŭfʹĭt, IPA(key): /ˈbʌf.ɪt/, /ˈbʌf.ət/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun[edit]

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.

Etymology 3[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Verb[edit]

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

  1. (transitive) To strike with a buffet; to cuff; to slap.
  2. (transitive, figurative) To aggressively challenge, denounce, or criticise.
    • 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.
    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—
  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[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Chinese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English buffet.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

buffet

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

Synonyms[edit]

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

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French buffet.

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

buffet

  1. buffet

Usage notes[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

compounds

Further reading[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

Noun[edit]

buffet m (plural buffets)

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

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  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[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from French buffet.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

buffet m (invariable)

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

References[edit]

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

Further reading[edit]

  • buffet in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Middle English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /buˈfɛt/, /ˈbufɛt/

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

buffet (plural buffettes)

  1. A buffet (strike or blow, especially with one's hand).
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

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[edit]
References[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French buffet.

Noun[edit]

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[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French buffet.

Noun[edit]

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[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from French buffet.

Noun[edit]

buffet m (plural buffets)

  1. Alternative form of bufê

Spanish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French buffet. Doublet of bufete.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /buˈfet/ [buˈfet̪]
  • Rhymes: -et
  • Syllabification: buf‧fet

Noun[edit]

buffet m (plural buffets)

  1. buffet

Further reading[edit]

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