waitron

English

Etymology 1

Coined as a gender-neutral substitute for waiter and waitress, this is one of the few words with the gender-neutral suffix -ron to have seen much use, probably re-inforced by rhyming with patron. (Some references instead analyse it as using the same "machinelike" suffix -tron as waitron (“mechanical waiter”), but more likely it uses -ron like laundron and like waiter and waitress use -er/-ress not *-ter/*-tress.)

Noun

waitron (plural waitrons)

1. (nonstandard, rare) A waiter or waitress.
   • 1992, Julian May, Jack the Bodiless, Knopf, →ISBN, →OL:

     With adolescent perversity, he turned up his nose at all of the elegant French items on the Closerie's menu and scandalized the waitron by demanding corned-beef hash—fried extra crisp—with poached eggs, a slice of fresh papaya with lime, banana-walnut bread, and a pitcher of Mexican chocolate.

   • 2004 September 28, Tracey Dalton, The Food and Beverage Handbook, Lansdowne: Juta and Company Ltd., →ISBN, →OL, page 48:

     Table Service is the combined interaction between the guest and the waitron whilst seated at a table in the establishment's restaurant.

   • 2008 February 1, Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright, Spit Or Swallow: A Guide for the Wine Virgin, Lansdowne: Double Storey, →ISBN, →OL, page 89:

     If your wine waitron smells the cork, s/he's probably a beginner at this game because you can tell absolutely nothing by smelling the cork.

   • 2010 May 10, Sam Cowen, “Jo'burg and London, relatively speaking”, in Daily Telegraph‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Come back here with your cut glass, posh English accent and waitrons everywhere will melt at your feet.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:waitron.

Synonyms

• waitperson
• waitstaff (collective)
• server

Etymology 2

From waiter +‎ -tron.

Noun

waitron (plural waitrons)

1. (dated, science fiction) A robotic or mechanical waiter.