Hi Friends!
Do native speakers ever use ‘server’ instead of ‘waiter’? The dictionary says the word is a synonym, but I have a feeling it’s not quite used in everday life. Would you be so kind to tell me?!
1 Like
I’d say you were right, Bagheera.
1 Like
I thought that. Thanks a lot, anyway! Sorry for bothering!
1 Like
So, what’s the difference between them?
1 Like
Waiter=male
Waitress=female
Server=person who serves
1 Like
Server = person who serves food and drink, or the player who serves, as in court games.
1 Like
Thank all of you!
1 Like
Here is, how wikipedia explains the word server :
leaving out of consideration the above mentioned concern. “Waiter” wouldn’t meet the purpose here.
1 Like
If we broaden the usage, then “waiter” can also be a tray or salver.
1 Like
Yes, Foah, a computer server is different from a server in a restaraunt.
The original poster was asking about server referring to a waiter or waitress. It is a commonly used term in the US.
I am not entirely sure about this, but I think the term server, meaning waiter or waitress, came into use as a call for non gender-specific terms for jobs.
In any case, that is the purpose of the term server instead of waiter or waitress. To refer to a job without being gender-specific.
1 Like
Of course I ment ‘server’ as ‘waiter’. I came across it in an American novel and start wondering whether someone really uses it. Do Americans often use it?
What is ‘server’ in computing can be easily found in dictionaries.
1 Like
I agree with Expatcat.
1 Like
I see, something like ‘politically correct language’.
1 Like