bistro

See also: Bistro, bistró, bistrò, and bistrô

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. See the French etymology for more.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːstɹəʊ/, /ˈbɪstɹəʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːstɹoʊ/, /ˈbɪstɹoʊ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪstɹəʊ

Noun

bistro (plural bistros)

1. A small casual restaurant or pub, typically serving French-style cuisine.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pub

   • 2018 June 16, Claire Mufson, “Paris Bistros Became Symbols of Resilience. But Are They Unesco Worthy?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-03-01:

     Now, a coalition of bistro owners, unions and trade organizations is lobbying to get Unesco to grant Paris's sidewalk bistros and cafes official status as France's "intangible cultural heritage."

   • 2023 December 4, Nina Mesfin, “The New Must-Have for Every Stocking: French Canadian Meat Pie!”, in The New Yorker‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-01-17:

     The rule that Christmas preparations should wait until after Thanksgiving doesn't apply to Hugue Dufour and his wife, Sarah Obraitis, the owners of M. Wells, a Québécois bistro in Long Island City.

Derived terms

• bistronomy

 

Translations

small restaurant

• Armenian: բիստրո (hy) (bistro)
• Basque: bistro
• Catalan: bistrot
• Danish: bistro (da) c
• Dutch: eetcafé (nl) n, bistro (nl)
• Finnish: bistro (fi)
• French: bistro (fr) m
• German: Bistro (de) n
• Hebrew: ביסטרו
• Hungarian: bisztró (hu)
• Italian: trattoria (it) f, bistrot (it)
• Japanese: ビストロ (ja)
• Latin: popīna (la) f
• Malay: bistro
• Marathi: बिस्ट्रो m (bisṭro)
• Norwegian: bistro m
• Polish: bistro (pl) n
• Portuguese: bistrô (pt) m
• Russian: бистро́ (ru) n (bistró)
• Spanish: bistró (es), casa de comidas f
• Swedish: bistro (sv) c
• Tagalog: bistro
• Ukrainian: бістро (bistro)
• Welsh: bistro

small bar

• Armenian: բիստրո (hy) (bistro)
• Danish: bistro (da) c
• Finnish: bistro (fi)
• French: bistro (fr) m
• German: Bistro (de) n, Kneipe (de) f
• Hungarian: bisztró (hu)
• Italian: osteria (it) f
• Marathi: बिस्ट्रो m (bisṭro)
• Polish: bistro (pl) n
• Russian: бистро́ (ru) n (bistró), заку́сочная (ru) f (zakúsočnaja), (neglectful) забега́ловка (ru) f (zabegálovka)

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

• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} bistro n

Verb

bistro (third-person singular simple present bistros, present participle bistroing, simple past and past participle bistroed)

1. (rare) To eat at a bistro.

See also

• fast food

 

Further reading

• “bistro”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “bistro”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• orbits

Danish

Etymology

From French bistro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈb̥isd̥ʁo]

Noun

bistro c (singular definite bistroen, plural indefinite bistroer)

1. A bistro.

Inflection

Declension of bistro

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bistro	bistroen	bistroer	bistroerne
genitive	bistros	bistroens	bistroers	bistroernes

Further reading

• “bistro” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): [ˈbistro]
• Rhymes: -istro
• Hyphenation: bis‧tro

Noun

bistro (accusative singular bistron, plural bistroj, accusative plural bistrojn)

1. bistre

Finnish

Etymology

From French bistro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbistro/, [ˈbis̠tro̞]
• Rhymes: -istro
• Syllabification^(key): bist‧ro

Noun

bistro

1. bistro

Declension

Inflection of bistro (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		bistro	bistrot
genitive		bistron	bistrojen
partitive		bistroa	bistroja
illative		bistroon	bistroihin
		singular	plural
nominative		bistro	bistrot
accusative	nom.	bistro	bistrot
	gen.	bistron
genitive		bistron	bistrojen
partitive		bistroa	bistroja
inessive		bistrossa	bistroissa
elative		bistrosta	bistroista
illative		bistroon	bistroihin
adessive		bistrolla	bistroilla
ablative		bistrolta	bistroilta
allative		bistrolle	bistroille
essive		bistrona	bistroina
translative		bistroksi	bistroiksi
abessive		bistrotta	bistroitta
instructive		—	bistroin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of bistro (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative bistroni bistroni accusative nom. bistroni bistroni gen. bistroni genitive bistroni bistrojeni partitive bistroani bistrojani inessive bistrossani bistroissani elative bistrostani bistroistani illative bistrooni bistroihini adessive bistrollani bistroillani ablative bistroltani bistroiltani allative bistrolleni bistroilleni essive bistronani bistroinani translative bistrokseni bistroikseni abessive bistrottani bistroittani instructive — — comitative — bistroineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative bistrosi bistrosi accusative nom. bistrosi bistrosi gen. bistrosi genitive bistrosi bistrojesi partitive bistroasi bistrojasi inessive bistrossasi bistroissasi elative bistrostasi bistroistasi illative bistroosi bistroihisi adessive bistrollasi bistroillasi ablative bistroltasi bistroiltasi allative bistrollesi bistroillesi essive bistronasi bistroinasi translative bistroksesi bistroiksesi abessive bistrottasi bistroittasi instructive — — comitative — bistroinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative bistromme bistromme accusative nom. bistromme bistromme gen. bistromme genitive bistromme bistrojemme partitive bistroamme bistrojamme inessive bistrossamme bistroissamme elative bistrostamme bistroistamme illative bistroomme bistroihimme adessive bistrollamme bistroillamme ablative bistroltamme bistroiltamme allative bistrollemme bistroillemme essive bistronamme bistroinamme translative bistroksemme bistroiksemme abessive bistrottamme bistroittamme instructive — — comitative — bistroinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative bistronne bistronne accusative nom. bistronne bistronne gen. bistronne genitive bistronne bistrojenne partitive bistroanne bistrojanne inessive bistrossanne bistroissanne elative bistrostanne bistroistanne illative bistroonne bistroihinne adessive bistrollanne bistroillanne ablative bistroltanne bistroiltanne allative bistrollenne bistroillenne essive bistronanne bistroinanne translative bistroksenne bistroiksenne abessive bistrottanne bistroittanne instructive — — comitative — bistroinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative bistronsa bistronsa accusative nom. bistronsa bistronsa gen. bistronsa genitive bistronsa bistrojensa partitive bistroaan bistroansa bistrojaan bistrojansa inessive bistrossaan bistrossansa bistroissaan bistroissansa elative bistrostaan bistrostansa bistroistaan bistroistansa illative bistroonsa bistroihinsa adessive bistrollaan bistrollansa bistroillaan bistroillansa ablative bistroltaan bistroltansa bistroiltaan bistroiltansa allative bistrolleen bistrollensa bistroilleen bistroillensa essive bistronaan bistronansa bistroinaan bistroinansa translative bistrokseen bistroksensa bistroikseen bistroiksensa abessive bistrottaan bistrottansa bistroittaan bistroittansa instructive — — comitative — bistroineen bistroinensa

Further reading

• “bistro”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (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

Alternative forms

• bistrot

Etymology

The legend of the origin of the word due to the Russian occupation in 1814.

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bis.tʁo/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bistro m (plural bistros)

1. bistro
2. (metonymically, France) proprietor of a bistro

   Synonym: bistrotier

Derived terms

• bistrotier

Descendants

• → Brazilian Portuguese: bistrô
• → Danish: bistro
• → English: bistro

Further reading

• bistro on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• bistro on the French Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^fr
• “bistro”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French bistre.

Noun

bistro m (plural bistri)

1. bistre

Etymology 2

Verb

bistro

1. first-person singular present indicative of bistrare

Further reading

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

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French bistro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbis.trɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -istrɔ
• Syllabification: bis‧tro

Noun

bistro n (indeclinable)

1. bistro (small restaurant)

   paryskie bistro ― a Parisian bistro

   pobliskie bistro ― a nearby bistro

   małe bistro ― a small bistro

   bar i bistro ― bar and bistro

Declension

Declension of bistro

	singular	plural
nominative	bistro	bistra
genitive	bistra	bister
dative	bistru	bistrom
accusative	bistro	bistra
instrumental	bistrem	bistrami
locative	bistrze	bistrach
vocative	bistro	bistra

or

Indeclinable.

Further reading

• bistro in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bistro in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Noun

bistro n (plural bistrouri)

1. Alternative form of bistrou

Declension

Declension of bistro

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) bistro	bistroul	(niște) bistrouri	bistrourile
genitive/dative	(unui) bistro	bistroului	(unor) bistrouri	bistrourilor
vocative	bistroule		bistrourilor

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

Adjective

bistro

1. neuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular of bistar

Adverb

bistro

1. clearly

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbistɾo/ [ˈbis.t̪ɾo]
• Rhymes: -istɾo
• Syllabification: bis‧tro

Noun

bistro m (plural bistros)

1. bistro

Swedish

Etymology

From French bistro. Attested since 1947.

Noun

bistro c

1. small bar or café

Declension

Declension of bistro

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	bistro	bistros
	definite	bistron	bistrons
plural	indefinite	bistroer	bistroers
	definite	bistroerna	bistroernas

References

• bistro in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• bistro in Svensk ordbok (SO)