tavern

Etymology

From Old French taverne (“wine shop”), from Latin taberna (“inn”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtævɚn/
• Rhymes: -ævə(ɹ)n

Noun

tavern (plural taverns)

1. A building containing a bar licensed to sell alcoholic drinks; an inn.
   • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, OCLC 16832619:

     At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors. […] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.