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WonderWord origin

The English word 'kiosk' comes from Turkish köşk, a garden pavilion. It arrived through French in the 1620s, and only in the 1860s did it start to mean a newsstand.

Etymology

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Turkish köşk itself came from Persian kushk, 'palace, pavilion'. In the Ottoman world it meant a light, often open-sided building in a palace garden, made for resting and enjoying the view. Topkapı Palace in Istanbul still has famous examples, such as the Baghdad Kiosk, built in 1639 to mark the capture of Baghdad. Western Europe copied the idea for its own gardens in the 17th century, and French turned the word into kiosque. From about 1865 English used it for small street stalls selling newspapers, later for telephone kiosks, and now for the touchscreen machines where people buy tickets or order food.

Türkçe oku
İngilizcedeki “kiosk” sözcüğü, Türkçedeki “köşk”ten gelir. Sözcük 1620'lerde Fransızca üzerinden İngilizceye geçti; gazete büfesi anlamını ise ancak 1860'larda kazandı.

Türkçedeki köşk de Farsçadaki kûşk (saray, kasır) sözcüğünden gelir. Osmanlı'da köşk, saray bahçelerinde dinlenmek ve manzarayı seyretmek için yapılan, çoğu zaman yanları açık, hafif bir yapıydı. İstanbul'daki Topkapı Sarayı'nda bunun ünlü örnekleri hâlâ ayaktadır; 1639'da Bağdat'ın alınışının anısına yapılan Bağdat Köşkü bunlardan biridir. 17. yüzyılda Batı Avrupa bu yapıları kendi bahçelerine taşıdı, Fransızca da sözcüğü kiosque biçimine soktu. İngilizcede 1865 dolaylarından itibaren gazete satan küçük sokak büfelerine, sonra telefon kulübelerine, bugün de bilet alınan ya da sipariş verilen dokunmatik makinelere kiosk deniyor.

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Background reading: Kiosk
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