canteen

noun

1. a small container used especially by soldiers and hikers for carrying water or other liquids.
2. a general store and cafeteria at a military base.
3. a place where free entertainment is provided for military personnel.
4. a place, as in a factory, school, or summer camp, where refreshments and sometimes personal supplies are sold.
5. a recreation center or social club, especially for teenagers.
6. a place set up to dispense food during an emergency.
7. a snack bar.
8. British. a box or chest for cutlery and other table utensils.

noun

1. a restaurant attached to a factory, school, etc, providing meals for large numbers of people
2. 1. a small shop that provides a limited range of items, such as toilet requisites, to a military unit
   2. a recreation centre for military personnel
3. a soldier’s eating and drinking utensils
4. a temporary or mobile stand at which food is provided
5. 1. a box in which a set of cutlery is laid out
   2. the cutlery itself
6. a flask or canister for carrying water or other liquids, as used by soldiers or travellers

n.

c.1710, “store in a military camp,” from French cantine “sutler’s shop” (17c.), from Italian cantina “wine cellar, vault,” which is perhaps another of the many meanings that were attached to Latin canto “corner;” in this case, perhaps “corner for storage.” A Gaulish origin also has been proposed. Extended to “refreshment room at a military base, school, etc.” from 1870. Meaning “small tin for water or liquor, carried by soldiers on the march, campers, etc.” is from 1744, from a sense in French.