A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs
restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.
Etymology
The French word comes from the
Late Latin
Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
term ("restorer") and from the Latin term ''restaurare''. The word ''restaurateur'' is simply French for a person who owns or runs a restaurant.
The feminine form of the French noun is ''restauratrice''.
A less common variant spelling ''restauranteur'' is formed from the "more familiar" term ''
restaurant''
with the French suffix ''-eur'' borrowed from ''restaurateur''. It is considered a misspelling by some.
The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'' gives examples of this variant (described as "originally American") going back to 1837.
H. L. Mencken said that in using this form he was using an American, not a French, word.
See also
*
Culinary arts
*
Foodservice
*
List of restaurateurs
This is a list of restaurateurs. A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional ...
*
National Restaurant Association
*
Restaurant
*
Restaurant management
*
The World's 50 Best Restaurants
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Food services occupations