kiosk
[kee-osk, kee-osk]
- a small structure having one or more sides open, used as a newsstand, refreshment stand, bandstand, etc.
- a thick, columnlike structure on which notices, advertisements, etc., are posted.
- an interactive computer terminal available for public use, as one with Internet access or site-specific information: Students use kiosks to look up campus events.
- an open pavilion or summerhouse common in Turkey and Iran.
- British. a telephone booth.
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Origin of kiosk
1615–25; < French kiosque stand in a public park ≪ Turkish köşk villa < Persian kūshk palace, villa
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for kiosk
Contemporary Examples
In May, Daugaard traveled to neighboring Minnesota to open a kiosk in the Mall of America to attract workers to his state.
A secret trap door in the kiosk below the clock leads to a spiral staircase down to the lower level info booth.
Upon your return, an officer from Customs and Border Protection directs you to a kiosk that looks like an ATM.
U.S. Tests a Lie Detector–Type Machine for Interrogations on the Mexican BorderG. W. Schulz
July 19, 2012
Historical Examples
They turned from the sea into the broad walk of the Villa, and walked towards the kiosk.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
He pointed with his cane in the direction of the chatterers near the kiosk.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
All about the kiosk bodies which had laid so still for the past week were moving.
The End of TimeWallace West
In the kiosk of my garden, the princess is now a willing prisoner.
AlroyBenjamin Disraeli
I went down it with a swoop, landed in a heap beside the kiosk and ducked into it.
Wandl the InvaderRaymond King Cummings
kiosk
- a small sometimes movable booth from which cigarettes, newspapers, light refreshments, etc, are sold
- mainly British a telephone box
- mainly US a thick post on which advertisements are posted
- (in Turkey, Iran, etc, esp formerly) a light open-sided pavilion
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Word Origin
C17: from French kiosque bandstand, from Turkish kösk, from Persian kūshk pavilion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for kiosk
n.
1620s, "open pavilion," from French kiosque (17c.), from Turkish koshk, kiöshk "pavilion, palace," from Persian kushk "palace, portico." Later of newsstands (1865). Modern sense influenced by British telephone kiosk (1928).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper