bistro comes from the Russian word meaning 'quick' -- Reiner, am I right am I right?!?!
Ummm, t-p is the native Russian around here, CD
But that's certainly the accepted story, and Andy's Wiki cross-reference backs it up
I somehow imagine that eateries might have chalked the word up outside to attract business, and inadvertently "named" themselves in the process? The Wiki quote is quite correct... there never was a kind of cafe called "bistro" in Russia, and when the cafe type is meant in Russian (for example, in guidebooks to Paris etc) they've retransliterated it back into Russian as though it wasn't a Russian word originally (ie transliterating the modern French pronounciation of "
beestro" rather than "
boeistro".
I derive some strange enjoyment from watching Russian adapting to new phenomena and concepts - contrary to some perceptions, Russians have a hearty appetite for new things and ideas from abroad, and always have had. Many words for technology came from German in the C19th, such as "mashina" (a car), whereas the "culture industry" borrowed from Russia's longstanding parallel use of French...
teatr, koncert, orkestr, balkon, parterre, amphiteatre, entr'acte have all gone directly into everyday Russian with spellings that "enable" their correct French-style pronounciations... although you wouldn't immediately recognise антракт as "entr'acte"
The new Russian slang is largely English-based, and the humour in it lies in creating a Russian word whilst relying on knowing the meaning of the English root. For example, a "pre-owned" car is now a
nausenaya mashina , and a fruit juice squeezed for you by the establishment is a
fresh. However, "proper" words spring up too... although phrasebooks list "kafe" as a cafe, a "Seattle-style" cafe is a
kaffeinaya - and there are lots of them. Musos visiting St Pete's might like one around the corner from the Philharmonia, which is called "Prokofiev" (written "Pro-kofe-ev").
