maître d'hôtel

[ mey-ter doh-tel, mey-truh; French me-truh doh-tel ]

noun

, plural maî·tres d'hô·tel [mey-terz doh-, tel, mey-tr, uh, z, me-t, r, uh, doh-, tel].

1. a headwaiter.
2. a steward or butler.
3. the owner or manager of a hotel.
4. Cooking. a sauce of melted butter, minced parsley, and lemon juice or vinegar.

maître d'hôtel

/ ˌmɛtrə dəʊˈtɛl; mɛtrə dotɛl /

noun

1. a head waiter or steward
2. the manager or owner of a hotel

Word History and Origins

Origin of maître d'hôtel¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from French: “master of (the) house”

Word History and Origins

Origin of maître d'hôtel¹

C16: from French: master of (the) hotel

Example Sentences

There he worked at the Marco Polo lounge at the Waldorf Astoria and then as maître d’hôtel at La Grenouille, on East 52nd Street near Fifth Avenue, today the last of the city’s surviving internationally renowned haute cuisine French restaurants of the 1960s era.

From New York Times

The two men first met in the late-1970s when Mr. King was maître d’hôtel at Joe Allen, the London outpost of the Manhattan theater-district restaurant, and Mr. Corbin worked at Langan’s Brasserie, where the actor Michael Caine was once an owner.

From New York Times

"We've been waiting for this day for several months. The pleasure is as much ours as it is our diners," said the maitre d'hotel Tony Gonsard.

From Reuters

"Your frients haff gone up-stairs," the German maître d'hôtel said in English.

From Literature

But Ignacio Anaya, the maître d’hôtel, had no cooks in the kitchen.

From New York Times