buffet

See also: Buffet

English

Jean-Louis Forain, The Buffet, 1884

Etymology 1

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

• beaufet (archaic)

Pronunciation

• (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

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

• autobuffet
• buffet car
• buffeteria
• finger buffet
• scatter buffet
• tea buffet

 

Descendants

• → Japanese: ビュッフェ (byuffe)
• → Korean: 뷔페 (bwipe)

Translations

counter or sideboard

• Arabic: بُوفِيه m (būfēh)

  Gulf Arabic: بوفيه m (bofe)

• Belarusian: буфе́т m (bufjét), буфэ́т m (bufét)
• Bulgarian: бюфе́т m (bjufét)
• Catalan: bufet (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 餐具櫃 / 餐具柜 (cānjùjǔ)

• Esperanto: bufedo (eo)
• Finnish: noutopöytä (fi), seisova pöytä (fi), buffetti (fi); tarjoilupöytä (sideboard)
• French: buffet (fr) m
• German: Anrichte (de) f, Büfett (de) n
• Greek: μπουφές (el) m (boufés)
• Hebrew: מִזְנוֹן (he) m (miznón)
• Ido: kredenco (io), pladomoblo (io)
• Indonesian: bufet (id)
• Japanese: ビュッフェ (ja) (byuffe)
• Korean: 뷔페 (ko) (bwipe)
• Latin: abacus (la) m
• Malay: bufet
• Persian: بوفه (fa) (bufe)
• Polish: bufet (pl) m
• Portuguese: bufê (pt) m
• Russian: буфе́т (ru) m (bufét), сто́йка (ru) f (stójka)
• Sicilian: buffettu m
• Spanish: bufé (es) m, bufet (es) m, ambigú (es) m
• Swedish: buffé (sv) c
• Ukrainian: буфе́т (uk) m (bufét)
• Vietnamese: búp phê (uncommon), buffet (vi) (common, Anglicism)

food — see also smorgasbord

• Bulgarian: бюфе́т m (bjufét)
• Catalan: bufet (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自助餐 (zh) (zìzhùcān)

• Esperanto: bufedo (eo)
• Estonian: rootsi laud
• Finnish: noutopöytä (fi), seisova pöytä (fi), buffetti (fi)
• German: Buffet (de) n
• Hebrew: מִזְנוֹן (he) m (miznón), בּוּפֶה m (bufé)
• Indonesian: bufet (id)
• Japanese: 食べ放題 (ja) (tabehōdai), バイキング (ja) (baikingu)
• Lao: ບຸບເຟ່ (bup fē)
• Malay: bufet
• Portuguese: bufê (pt) m
• Russian: буфе́т (ru) m (bufét), фурше́т (ru) m (furšét), шве́дский стол (ru) m (švédskij stol)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шве̏дскӣ сто̑л m, шве̏дскӣ сто̑ m

  Roman: švȅdskī stȏl m, švȅdskī stȏ m

• Spanish: bufé (es) m, bufet (es) m, ambigú (es) m
• Swedish: buffé (sv) c
• Tagalog: tintimpye, sariling-kuha, sariling-silbi
• Thai: บุฟเฟต์ (th) (búp-fêe)
• Vietnamese: búp phê (uncommon), buffet (vi) (common, Anglicism)

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

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} hlaðborð n
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} buffé m, ^{(please verify)} buffet m
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} bife (sh) m

Etymology 2

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

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

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

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

   • 1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

     On his cheek a buffet fell.

   • October 30, 1795, Edmund Burke, letter to Lord Auckland

     those planks of tough and hardy oak that used for years to brave the buffets of the Bay of Biscay

   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VII and XIV:

     Kipper stood blinking, as I had sometimes seen him do at the boxing tourneys in which he indulged when in receipt of a shrewd buffet on some tender spot like the tip of the nose.

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

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

Pronunciation

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

Verb

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.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 26:67:

     They spit in his face and buffeted him.

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.
   • 2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], “Tug of War”, in Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN, pages 200–201:

     Again the chirpy tone did nothing to pacify the woman holding on to her ankles. Soon Zoe was buffeting back and forward through the hole.

Translations

strike repeatedly and violently; batter

• Faroese: sláa (fo), skumpa (fo), geva ein undir vangan
• German: schlagen (de), stoßen (de), einen Puff versetzen, mit Püffen traktieren
• Ido: batar (io)
• Irish: gread
• Latin: tundō
• Maori: koheri, tātā, tukituki
• Occitan: batre (oc), tustar (oc)

Further reading

• buffet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Chinese

Alternative forms

• 蒲飛 / 蒲飞, 浦飛 / 浦飞, 步飛 / 步飞

Etymology

From English buffet.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): pou⁶ fei¹ / bou⁶ fei¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: pou⁶ fei¹ / bou⁶ fei¹
    • Yale: pouh fēi / bouh fēi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: pou⁶ fei¹ / bou⁶ fei¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: pou⁶ féi¹ / bou⁶ féi¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰou̯²² fei̯⁵⁵/, /pou̯²² fei̯⁵⁵/

Noun

buffet

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) buffet

   食buffet [Cantonese]  ―  sik⁶ pou⁶ fei¹ [Jyutping]  ―  to have a buffet meal

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 自助餐 (“buffet”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		自助餐
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	自助餐, 吃到飽, buffet
Cantonese	Hong Kong	buffet, 自助餐, 任食, 放題 Japanese

Finnish

Etymology

From French buffet.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

buffet

1. buffet

Usage notes

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

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

compounds

• buffetpöytä
• buffettarjoilu

 

Further reading

• “buffet”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

French

Etymology

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”). Or, according to the Digitized Treasury of the French Language, from an imitative source akin to bouffer (“to eat (in excess)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /by.fɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

buffet m (plural buffets)

1. sideboard, dresser (a piece of furniture)

   Synonym: crédence

2. buffet (food)
3. (slang) belly

   Synonym: ventre

Derived terms

• buffet à volonté
• buffet campagnard
• buffet de cuisine
• buffet de gare
• buffet du grand jeu
• buffet du positif
• buffet d’argenterie
• buffet d’eau
• buffet d’orgue
• buffet froid
• buffet garni
• buffet glacière
• buffetier
• buffetière
• danser devant le buffet
• dressoir-buffet
• en avoir dans le buffet
• ne pas manquer de buffet
• ne rien avoir dans le buffet
• n’avoir rien dans le buffet
• vin du buffet

 

Descendants

• → Catalan: bufet
• → Czech: bufet
• → Danish: buffet
• → Dutch: buffet
• → Finnish: buffet
• → Galician: bufete
• → German: Buffet, Büfett, Büfet, Büffet, Büfee, Büffee
• → Italian: buffet
• → Lao: ບຸບເຟ່ (bup fē)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: buffet
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: buffet
• → Persian: بوفه (bufe)
• → Polish: bufet
• → Portuguese: bufê, bufete
• → Romanian: bufet
• → Serbo-Croatian: bìfē, бѝфе̄
• → Spanish: buffet, bufet
• → Spanish: bufete
  • → Cebuano: bupete
  • → Tagalog: bupete
• → Swedish: buffé
• → Thai: บุฟเฟต์ (búp-fêe)
• → Turkish: büfe
• → Vietnamese: búp phê

References

• “buffet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Further reading

• “buffet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French buffet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bufˈfɛ/^**, /bufˈfe/^**
• Rhymes: -ɛ, -e

Noun

buffet m (invariable)

1. (furniture) sideboard

   Synonym: dispensa

2. buffet, refreshment bar

Further reading

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

Middle English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buˈfɛt/, /ˈbufɛt/

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

• boffat, boffet, bofett

Noun

buffet (plural buffettes)

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

Related terms

• buffeten

Descendants

• English: buffet
• Scots: buffet

References

• “buffet, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

• bofet, buffett, buffit

Noun

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

• English: buffet, beaufet (archaic) (remodelled after modern French)
  • → Japanese: ビュッフェ (byuffe)
  • → Korean: 뷔페 (bwipe)
• ⇒ Scots: buffet stule

References

• “buffet, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• buffé, buffe

Etymology

From French buffet.

Noun

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

Alternative forms

• buffé, buffe

Etymology

From French buffet.

Noun

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

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French buffet.

Noun

buffet m (plural buffets)

1. Alternative form of bufê

Spanish

Alternative forms

• bufet

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French buffet. Doublet of bufete.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

buffet m (plural buffets)

1. buffet

Usage notes

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

• “bufet”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10