waitron

noun

wait·​ron ˈwā-ˌträn 

-trən

: waitperson

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Our earliest evidence of "waitron" in print is from 1980. The word is probably a blend of "waiter/waitress" and "-tron," a suffix that seems to allude to the machinelike impersonality of waiting tables. It may also have been influenced by "neutron," which is assumed to come from the word neutral and so implies the gender-neutrality of "waitron." The words "patron" and "moron" have also been suggested as possible influences on the development of this word. "Waitron" is a popular yet vaguely disparaging and somewhat informal term. A more common (albeit less colorful) gender-neutral substitute for "waiter" or "waitress" is "server."

Word History

Etymology

blend of waiter or waitress and -tron (suggesting the machinelike impersonality of such work), later (perhaps influenced by neutron) taken as a gender-neutral term

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

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