- (especially British English)
a place where food and drink are served in a factory, a school, etc. 食堂；餐厅 a small container used by soldiers, travellers, etc. for carrying water or other liquid （士兵、旅游者等用的）水壶 - canteen of cutlery (British English)
a box containing a set of knives, forks and spoons （装有一套刀、叉和勺的）餐具盒
Word Originmid 18th cent. (originally denoting a shop selling provisions or alcohol in a barracks or garrison town): from French cantine, from Italian cantina ‘cellar’. A French use of cantine denoting a small compartmented case for carrying bottles of wine may have given rise to sense (3).