bistro

See also Bistro, and bistrò

English

WOTD – 29 July 2009    

"At the Bistro," painting by Jean Beraud

Etymology

Attested from c. 1920, from the French bistro(t) with the original meaning "proprietor of a tavern" (1880s), of Unknown origin, presumably regional French dialect.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈbiː.stɹəʊ/
• (US) IPA: /ˈbiː.stɹoʊ/

Noun

bistro (plural bistros)

1. A small European-style restaurant.
2. A small bar or pub.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:pub

Translations

small European-style restaurant

• Armenian: բիստրո (hy) (bistro) 
• Dutch: eetcafé (nl) n
• French: bistro (fr) m
• German: Bistro (de) n
• Hungarian: bisztró (hu)

• Italian: trattoria (it) f
• Norwegian: bistro (no) m
• Russian: бистро (ru) (bistró) n 
• Swedish: bistro (sv) c

small bar

• Armenian: բիստրո (hy) (bistro) 
• French: bistro (fr) m
• German: Bistro (de) n
• Hungarian: bisztró (hu)

• Italian: osteria (it) f
• Russian: бистро (ru) (bistró) n , закусочная (ru) (zakúsočnaja) f , (neglectful) забегаловка (ru) (zabegálovka) f 

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Slovak: bistro n

See also

• fast food

Anagrams

• orbits

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Finnish

Noun

bistro

1. bistro

Declension

Declension of bistro (type valo) singular plural nominative bistro bistrot genitive bistron bistrojen partitive bistroa bistroja accusative bistro bistron bistrot inessive bistrossa bistroissa elative bistrosta bistroista illative bistroon bistroihin adessive bistrolla bistroilla ablative bistrolta bistroilta allative bistrolle bistroille essive bistrona bistroina translative bistroksi bistroiksi instructive – bistroin abessive bistrotta bistroitta comitative – bistroineen

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French

Etymology

The legend of the origin of the word due to the russian occupation in 1814

The etymology is unclear, and is presumed to come from a regional word: bistro, bistrot, bistingo, or bistraud, a word in the Poitou dialect which means a "lesser servant." Another offered is bistouille or bistrouille, a colloquial term from the northern area of France, which is a mixture of brandy and coffee; precisely the kind of beverage that could be served at a bistro. The first recorded use of the word appears in 1884,, and again in 1892 ("bistrot").

A popular folk etymology of the word claims that it originated among Russian troops who occupied Paris following the Napoleonic wars. In taverns they would shout the Russian быстро (býstro, "quickly") to the waiters, so that "bistro" took on the meaning of a place where food was served quickly. This etymology is rejected, due to the 69 year gap between the proposed origin and the first attestation. In Russia restaurants are not traditionally called bistros, and the concept of the fast-serving restaurant as used in Russian is seen as a French import, unrelated to the supposed Russian origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bis.tʁo/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

bistro m (plural bistros)

1. bistro

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Italian

Noun

bistro m (plural bistri)

1. bistre

Verb

bistro

1. first-person singular present indicative of bistrare

Verb

bistro

1. first-person singular present indicative of bistrare

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From French bistro.

Noun

bìstrō m (Cyrillic spelling бѝстро̄)

1. bistro

Declension

    declension of bistro

	singular	plural
nominative	bistro	bistroi
genitive	bistroa	bistroa
dative	bistrou	bistroima
accusative	bistro	bistroe
vocative	bistro	bistroi
locative	bistrou	bistroima
instrumental	bistroom	bistroima