counterman

American  

[koun-ter-man] / ˈkaʊn tərˌmæn /

noun

plural

countermen

1. a person who waits on customers from behind a counter, as in a cafeteria.

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Etymology

Origin of counterman

First recorded in 1850–55; counter ¹ + man

Example Sentences

Before he moved in the late 1960s to San Francisco, where he started acting at the American Conservatory Theater, he worked as a counterman at several New York delicatessens.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2023

During the day, the 43-year-old is a counterman at a motorcycle shop.

From Washington Post • Sep. 21, 2018

“They always come here on the last day,” the counterman observed, when his patrons had trundled into the cold.

From The Guardian • Dec. 30, 2015

But from your counter seat, you can observe the counterman make egg creams the old-fashioned way, by spritzing rapidly stirred cold milk and syrup with a jet of seltzer from a bottle.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2014

“What can I get you?” the counterman asked as he wiped in front of us with a rag that spread a thin film of grease on the Formica surface.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago