banquette

American  

[bang-ket, bang-kit] / bæŋˈkɛt, ˈbæŋ kɪt /

noun

1. a long bench with an upholstered seat, especially one along a wall, as in a restaurant.

2. an embankment for buttressing the base of a levee and forming a berm.

3. Chiefly Coastal Louisiana and East Texas. a sidewalk, especially a raised one of bricks or planks.

4. Fortification. a platform or step along the inside of a parapet, for soldiers to stand on when firing.

5. a ledge running across the back of a buffet.

6. a bench for passengers on top of a stagecoach.

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banquette British  

/ bæŋˈkɛt /

noun

1. an upholstered bench

2. (formerly) a raised part behind a parapet

3. a footbridge

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Etymology

Origin of banquette

1620–30; < French < Provençal banqueta, equivalent to banc bench ( see bank ³) + -eta -ette

Example Sentences

A street vendor’s haul of stuffed animals inspired one of their best known works: the Banquette chairs, which are nests of plush toys, like the array on a child’s bed.

From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2022

I go to the bar of Cafe Banquette and ask for their largest to-go cup, a 40-ounce plastic container, to be filled with ice water.

From The Guardian • Feb. 9, 2016

They had strolled along past Le Fort till the road lost itself in a field above Banquette, and there they came to an involuntary stand and stood gazing.

From Pearl of Pearl Island by Oxenham, John

Banquette, bang-ket′, n. a raised way inside a parapet; the long seat behind the driver in a French diligence.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various