bodega

[boh-dey-guh, baw-the-gah]

noun

plural

bodegas 

1. a small, independent or family-owned grocery store, usually located in a densely populated urban environment, traditionally serving a Hispanic clientele.

2. (in Spain)

   1. a wineshop.

   2. a warehouse for storing or aging wines.

bodega

/ boˈðeɣa, bəʊˈdiːɡə /

noun

1. a shop selling wine and sometimes groceries, esp in a Spanish-speaking country

Word History and Origins

Origin of bodega¹

First recorded in 1845–50 bodega for def. 2; 1965–70 bodega for def. 1; from Latin American Spanish, Spanish “wine cellar, wine shop,” from Latin apothēca “storehouse”; apothecary

Word History and Origins

Origin of bodega¹

C19: from Spanish, ultimately from Greek apothēkē storehouse, from apotithenai to store, put away

Example Sentences

McCarthy says Atlantic City doesn’t even have a “full grocery store,” most residents rely on bodegas or smaller markets for grocery shopping.

Read more on Salon

Like the bodegas of New York, they have become part of the fabric of contemporary urban life, multifunctional spaces that can be restaurants or coffee shops or bars with microwaves and outdoor seating.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Carmy brings Claire into our lives in Episode 2, “Pasta,” during a chance encounter at a bodega where he’s picking up ice cream to use as an ingredient in veal stock.

Read more on Salon

Back in Los Angeles taking long walks with his daughter, past bodegas and car washes, he saw jacaranda, heard owls and coyotes and realized the wild had been here all along.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For now, the extent of living quarters is a handful of temporary trailers behind the bodega building, surrounded by a wall, acres of Texas plain and a few horses munching grass.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• convenience store 
• trading post