counterman en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From counter + man.
Meanings
-
(US) A man who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner.
There was a cashier up front and behind this long counter were about five countermen, evenly spaced. Each morning Joey and I would sit at the very last station in the back and chitchat with Tony, the counterman there who as a very old guy who usually got your order wrong.
1984, John Fox, chapter 15, in The Boys on the Rock, page 85:I looked for the counterman, seeing him serving a plate of pork chops and grits to a man with a pale blond moustache.
1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 179:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| countermen | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (2)
pl barman (man who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner) · pl bufetowy (man who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner)