ki·osk
(kē′ŏsk′, kē-ŏsk′)n.1. A small structure, usually open in front, used as a newsstand or a place for selling goods or conducting transactions, as at a bank.
2. A small structure housing an electronic terminal for public use, as for purchasing tickets or accessing information.
3. A usually cylindrical structure on which advertisements are posted.
4. Archaic A small open gazebo or pavilion.
[Ultimately (partly via French kiosque Italian chiosco, with French ki- and Italian chi- representing Turkish palatalized k-) from Turkish köşk, gazebo, pavilion, from Persian kōšk, palace, from Middle Persian, of unknown origin.]
Word History: Kiosk comes from the Turkish word köşk, which originally referred to a kind of open pavilion or summerhouse in Turkey and Persia, often built on a hexagonal or many-sided base. The upper classes of the Ottoman Empire would enjoy entertainments and view their gardens in the comfort of such buildings. When the word first began to appear in English, kiosk referred to these Middle Eastern pavilions, which Europeans imitated in their own gardens and parks. In France and Belgium, the word kiosque was applied to something lower on the scale, structures resembling these pavilions but used as places to sell newspapers or as bandstands. When such lowly structures began to be built in England for these purposes, the word kiosk was reborrowed from French in the middle of the 1800s with the meaning "a place where newspapers are sold."
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
kiosk
(ˈkiːɒsk) n1. a small sometimes movable booth from which cigarettes, newspapers, light refreshments, etc, are sold
2. chiefly Brit a telephone box
3. chiefly US a thick post on which advertisements are posted
4. (in Turkey, Iran, etc, esp formerly) a light open-sided pavilion
[C17: from French kiosque bandstand, from Turkish kösk, from Persian kūshk pavilion]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ki•osk
(ˈki ɒsk, kiˈɒsk)
n. 1. a small building or structure open on one or more sides, used as a newsstand, refreshment stand, etc.
2. a thick, columnlike structure on which notices and advertisements are posted.
3. an interactive computer terminal available for public use, as one with Internet access or site-specific information: Students use kiosks to look up campus events.
4. an open pavilion or summerhouse common in Turkey and Iran.
5. Brit. a telephone booth.
[1615–25; < French kiosque stand in a public park « Turkish köşk villa < Persian kūshk palace, villa]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
kiosk
1. A small pavilion or summer-house.
2. A small shop building on the street or inside a bigger building.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited