Tables d'hote

Table d'hote Ta"ble d'h[^o]te" (t[.a]"bl' d[=o]t`); pl. {Tables d'h[^o]te}. [F., literally, table of the landlord.] 1. A common table for guests at a hotel; an ordinary. [1913 Webster]

2. Now, commonly, a meal, usually of several preselected and fixed courses, in a restaurant, hotel, or the like, for which one pays a fixed price. Sometimes, a meal with optional courses for which one pays a fixed price irrespective of what one orders; but the latter is usuallyt referred to as a {pris fixe} meal or a {a la carte} meal. Often used adjectively; as, a table-d'h[^o]te meal. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]