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The word "dormitory" means "sleeping place". Is there any similar word for "eating place"?

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  • Since you didn't give a context, I'd echo @Robusto's comment that dormitory implies a school setting where the students live away from home, like a university.
    – Wayne
    Commented May 17, 2011 at 15:45

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There's also refectory:

A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places it is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. It is derived from the Latin reficere: to remake or restore, via Late Latin refectorium, which means a place one goes to be restored. [Wikipedia]

the root of which it shares with restaurant:

Modern restaurants ... emerged only in 18th-century Europe, although similar establishments had also developed in China. A restaurant owner is called a restaurateur; both words derive from the French verb restaurer, meaning "to restore". [Wikipedia]

Oh, and of course beanery, hash house, greasy spoon, & automat.

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  • +1 for refectory. Exactly what I thought of on reading the question.
    – Jimi Oke
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 0:38
  • "*beanery, hash house, greasy spoon, & automat" - uh, one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong?
    – Marthaª
    Commented Feb 18, 2011 at 6:40
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Maybe you're looking for the word "eatery".

One of the best eateries in town.

Also the phrase "eating place" is very common.

There are some other words that I don't think you're looking for them. But you can also check them out.

Other words: cafe, self-service, diner, bistro, cafeteria, canteen, brasserie

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    FWIW as an American, I have never heard someone use the phrase "eating place" in actual conversation.
    – Tim Sparkles
    Commented Jun 30, 2015 at 19:30
  • In my experience, "restaurant" is the most common word to refer to a place where you buy food and eat it. "Eatery" is equivalent but less common. "Cafeteria" is more common when referring to a large room in an institution where individuals pick up food from servers behind a counter and take it to their table on a tray. Some restaurants have a similar serving model but generally a smaller, non-rotating selection. "Canteen" is equivalent to "cafeteria", but usually in a military context, and usually also includes a general store. The other terms you list are all particular kinds of restaurant.
    – Tim Sparkles
    Commented Jun 30, 2015 at 19:30
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There are lots of words for "eating place": dining room, cafeteria, restaurant, mess hall (military), galley (Navy), and so on.

Be aware that "dormitory" has a specific meaning, and is usually associated with schools, especially colleges. There are other words for sleeping place, including bedroom. If you're wondering if there are any words for eating place that are derived from the Latin meaning "eat" (as dormitory is from the Latin word for "sleep"), I'm not aware of any.

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Some common "eating place" words are:

bar, cafeteria, café, canteen, chophouse, coffee shop, diner, dining room, dive, doughtnut shop, drive-in, eatery, eating house, eating place, fast-food place, greasy spoon, grill, hamburger stand, hashery, hideaway, hotdog stand, inn, joint*, luncheonette, lunchroom, night club, outlet*, pizzeria, saloon, soda fountain, watering hole src

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There is no single word for eating place, there are many.

  • Restaurant
  • Diner
  • Cafeteria
  • Eatery

You have to make a choice.

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A restaurant, a diner, an eatery, and a café are all places where people go to eat meals.

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