Takeout, Takeaway

I learned that the British use the term "takeaway" instead of "takeout" in 1985 when I first visited the U.K. I remember being confused, briefly, about what it meant. But obviously, there's no particular reason "out" makes any more sense than "away."

Yesterday I found myself wondering which term was older, and how old they are. 

It turns out, takeout predates takeaway by more than 20 years: the former is first noted in 1941, the latter in 1964. 

I couldn't find details on where those first uses occurred. I tell myself that takeout would have first been used in New York City, but who knows. 

More interesting, takeout has an older meaning, which is documented in the 1908 Sears Roebuck catalog. It was an adjective used with a kind of table "designed to be removed or folded away." So by the 1940s, if you were old enough to remember that name, you could have served your takeout food on your takeout table.

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Carryout is older than either takeout or takeaway, dating from 1935.