Jiri Lonsky Jun 26, 2012:

Velký anglicko-český slovník (Academia, 1984) uvádí tento význam jako zastaralý, na šestém (a posledním) místě pro podstatné jméno rout, s překlady bufet, recepce, hostina, soirée a snad nějaké další.

Dylan Edwards (asker) Jun 26, 2012:

I wasn't aware of that meaning of 'rout'. Elizabeth's comment led me to do a little research, and I found out that the word "rout" in the sense of a party/gathering was used in Regency times, early 1800s.

Gerry Vickers Jun 25, 2012:

Liz - yes, you are right. You learn something new every day. Also here http://www.thefreedictionary.com/rout
However due to the definitions that immediately precede it, it is never used in this context nowadays!

Elizabeth Spacilova Jun 25, 2012:

Merriam Webster rout noun ... 3. a fashionable gathering

Gerry Vickers Jun 25, 2012:

I have wondered this as well. Usually these things come from German, but there is no equivalent. All I can think is that at some stage there must have been a misunderstanding of the English word 'rout' - with its legal definition 'a disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons acting together in a manner that suggests an intention to riot, although they do not actually carry out the intention.' - Wikipedia backs this up http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raut which in turn misunderstands the term as being 'hemžení' - hustle and bustle.

Dylan Edwards (asker) Jun 25, 2012:

@ Elizabeth: perhaps it's more often "snídaně formou bufetu".

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I suppose no one knows where the word "raut" comes from?

Jiri Lonsky Jun 25, 2012:

If you want to make it sound more posh, you could always say "catered bufet dinner", indicating it is not just stuff you took out of the fridge at the last minute...

Gerry Vickers Jun 25, 2012:

This one always causes problems - I have seen this translated as 'rout' far too many times :) I would go with dinner rather than supper, which IMO is the difference between raut and bufet, respectively.
Bufet also carries the connotations of the sort of place that used to be common in Czech (and Slovak) towns and cities such as the much-missed eateries Sputnik or Bufet Vesmír in Brno ...

Elizabeth Spacilova Jun 25, 2012:

(the wow refers to večeře formou bufetu, which I've actually never heard before ... :))

Elizabeth Spacilova Jun 25, 2012:

Wow. "Raut" is fancier than "bufet" - raut is fancier, staffed, usually gourmet; "bufet" is more ordinary and self-serve - I think of the bowls of cereal, cold cuts and rolls on a little table in a family hotel.

Dylan Edwards (asker) Jun 25, 2012:

"Buffet" sounds OK to me.

I've also seen "večeře formou bufetu". Is there a difference?