Waiter

A waiter, or waitress, attended to diners, taking orders, bringing food and drink, and clearing tables. The sense of a servant who waits at table dates from the 1400s and first meant household servants.

The 1870 and 1880 census instructions said cooks and waiters in hotels and restaurants should be reported separately from domestic servants, as in cook in hotel. In older documents waiter can also mean a customs officer, as in tide waiter.