# cafeteria

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌkafəˈtɪə̯.ɹi.ə/ · frequency rank #16,188

## Definitions
1. A restaurant in which customers select their food at a counter then carry it on a tray to a table to eat.
2. A dining area in an institution where meals may be purchased (as above), provided, or brought in from elsewhere.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Mexican Spanish cafetería (“coffeehouse”), from cafetera (“coffee maker”), from French cafetière, from café, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve) (Turkish kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa, “coffee”). Doublet of cafetière.

## Common misspellings (12)
`acfeteria`, `caefteria`, `cafeetria`, `cafeteira`, `cafeterai`, `cafeterria`, `cafetreia`, `cafetteria`, `caffeteria`, `cafteeria`, `ccafeteria`, `cfaeteria`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cafeteria