sommelier

American  

[suhm-uhl-yey, saw-muh-lyey] / ˌsʌm əlˈjeɪ, sɔ məˈljeɪ /

noun

sommeliers plural

1. a waiter, as in a club or restaurant, who is in charge of wines.

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sommelier British  

/ ˈsʌməlˌjeɪ /

noun

1. a wine steward in a restaurant or hotel

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sommeliers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sommelier

1920–25; < French, Middle French, dissimilated form of *sommerier, derivative of sommier one charged with arranging transportation, equivalent to somme burden (< Late Latin sagma horse load < Greek ságma covering, pack saddle) + -ier -ier ²

Explanation

If you want to impress your dining companions at a fancy restaurant, be sure to refer to the special waiter who serves wine as a sommelier. You're unlikely to see a sommelier unless you eat at an expensive restaurant where there is a carefully selected menu of wine chosen by the sommelier to complement the food. She will also serve and pour the wine into glasses, and often wait for the diners to taste and approve of it. In French, the word sommelier literally means "butler," and it's been used since the 19th century to mean "wine steward" or "wine waiter."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sommelier sommeliers

Martynas Zemavicius, a former sommelier in London restaurants, founded his company Acala in Lithuania to produce tea-based drinks that mimic the minerality, pH level and sugar content of wine.

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

He also became a certified sommelier and lecturer who teaches a community education course on the art and science of winemaking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

Barbara Wong, head sommelier at Le Bernardin in New York, agreed that solo diners—and drinkers—are common.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026

There’s the “cellar rat” turned sommelier who worked at Tampa’s Bern’s for over three decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025

The sommelier brought the beer, tall, beaded on the outside of the steins, and cold.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

It led him to become one of only two certified water sommeliers in South Africa and fewer than 100 worldwide, he said.

From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026

H2O is the stuff of life, but for several decades, water producers and sommeliers have been working to make it something more: the stuff of taste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025

Even sommeliers say it can take months of practice to determine the subtleties.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023

With just a sniff and a sip, trained sommeliers can often tell what region a wine came from: Douro in Portugal, Barossa in Australia, Napa or Sonoma in California.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 21, 2023

Now, the group has more than 100 members — from sommeliers to vintners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2023