coffeehouse
[kaw-fee-hous, kof-ee-]
noun, plural cof·fee·hous·es [kaw-fee-hou-ziz, kof-ee-] /ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊ zɪz, ˈkɒf i-/.- a public place that specializes in serving coffee and other refreshments and that sometimes provides informal entertainment.
- (in 17th- and 18th-century England) a similar establishment where groups met for a particular purpose, as for informal discussions or card playing.
verb (used without object), cof·fee·housed [kaw-fee-houzd, kof-ee-] /ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊzd, ˈkɒf i-/, cof·fee·hous·ing [kaw-fee-hou-zing, kof-ee-] /ˈkɔ fiˌhaʊ zɪŋ, ˈkɒf i-/.- Informal. to engage in aimless talk or chitchat.
- Cards. to make remarks and gestures during play with the purpose of misleading opponents as to the cards one holds.
Origin of coffeehouse
First recorded in
1605–15; coffee +
houseDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for coffee house- a place where coffee is served, esp one that was a fashionable meeting place in 18th-century London
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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