Tavern

Tavern (pronounced tav-ern)

(1) In certain jurisdictions, a place where liquors are sold to be consumed on the premises.

(2) In certain jurisdictions, a name used what in other places might be called a bar, pub, hotel etc.

(2) Loosely used, an alternative name for a bar, pub etc in the sense of being a place where one can buy and consume alcohol.

1250–1300: From the Middle English taverne, from the mid-thirteenth century Old French taverne (shed made of boards, booth, stall (also “inn; wine shop”), from the Latin taberna (hut, inn, wine shop).  The Latin taberna originally described any “hut or shed”, the meaning later extended to “inn; wine shop” (presumably reflecting the building from which strong drink was first sold), a possible origin of the word a dissimilation from traberna, from trabs (genitive trabis) (beam, timber), from the primitive Indo-European treb- (dwelling) (the source also of the Lithuanian troba (a building), the Old Welsh treb (house, dwelling), the Welsh tref (a dwelling (literally "hamlet, home, town”)), the Irish treb (residence) and the Old English ðorp (village, hamlet, farm, estate).  If that’s accepted, the original meaning was something like "a wooden shed", some aspect of the mode of construction thus providing the name, something not unknown in architecture (eg glasshouse, A-Frame etc).  In English, the additional meaning of “a public house” (source of the modern “pub”) emerged in the mid fifteenth century.  The alternative spellings were tavarn, tavarne, taveron, tawern & tawerne.  Tavern, tavernkeeper & taverner are nouns; the noun plural is taverns.

In the business of selling liquor, outlets have variously been named bar, pub, public house, hostelry, hotel, lounge, inn, lodge, saloon, barroom, taphouse, alehouse, roadhouse, speakeasy & drinkery.  In slang, the names are legion including dive, pit, suds, joint, boozer, joint, watering hole and probably a dozen more.  In general use, the words pub, bar, tavern and inn have long been used interchangeably and inn & tavern in particular have become general terms of commerce and an establishment which might, upon a deconstruction of its trade, appear historically understood as a tavern might actually be called an inn of some type, something which might once have confused but now is probably never noticed, business done according to the terms of the license which (in most jurisdictions) must be on public display (usually framed and in some dark, obscure corner).

Lindsay Lohan outside a (studio set) tavern door, Anger Management, March 2013.

The differences did though once matter.  Inns and taverns began to appear in some number in the towns & villages of England, Wales & Scotland during the twelfth & thirteenth centuries, the institutions providing an important infrastructure for the both the travelers of the age and the social life of communities.  The function of an inn was to provide lodgings for those traveling while taverns were drinking houses, ale at the time (long before clean drinking water was an assumed part of a civilized existence) as vital a part of British life as bread & cheese.  It was also a time of limited intrusion from government and well into the medieval era, anyone with a vaguely suitable building could start brewing ale and set up business as a tavern; taverns accordingly proliferated and it would be rare to find a village of any size without one.  Inns were different in that they offered lodgings, overnight accommodation for those on the traveling and while they usually had a place where a guest’s horse could be fed, watered and stabled, they didn’t always offer ale for sale though meals were usually available.  Sometimes, in the interest of synergy, a village’s inn and tavern would operate co-operatively, each serving the customer within their own fields of specialization.

Lindsay Lohan in the pub enjoying a cocktail, August 2022.

Gradually, things became more regulated and businesses expanded their range of operations, taverns beginning to offer food (simple snacks served at the bar or table) while inns operated as quasi-ale houses although service was usually restricted to drinks taken with meals.  From these practices emerged the classic model of licensing used in many parts of the English-speaking world (although the terminology might vary between jurisdictions.  There were (1) taverns which were licensed to serve alcoholic drinks and simple (often packaged) snacks, (2) public houses (universally known as pubs) which offered rooms for overnight accommodation and the provision of meals for guests (at least breakfast & dinner) with the service of alcohol restricted usually to beer and wine and available only to be taken with meals and (3) inns of residence which offered only rooms for rent.  Governments imposed the highest licensing fees on taverns, that levied on pubs considerably less because they discharged their social license by offering a vital service.  Inns often didn’t need to be licensed although local authorities might impose higher rates or land taxes based on the commercial nature of the operation.  In the modern era, things have changed and although by historic definition a place like the New York Hilton Midtown might be a pub, few would describe such places as such, the modern use being “hotel” while “inn” has devolved to be a marketing term, “pub” “tavern” & “bar” becoming more or less synonymous and used thus irrespective of what appears on the license.