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Apothecaries, Bodegas, and Boutiques
Apothecary, bodega, and boutique may not look very similar, but they are all related both in meaning and in origin. Each of these words can be traced back to a Latin word for “storehouse” (apotheca), and each one refers in English to a retail establishment of some sort. Although bodega initially meant “a storehouse for wine,” it now most commonly refers to a grocery store in an urban area, especially one that specializes in Hispanic groceries. Boutique has also taken on new meanings: its first sense in English (“a small retail store”) is still current, but it now may also denote “a small company that offers highly specialized products or services.” Of the three words, apothecary has changed the least; it has gone from referring solely to the person who sells drugs or medicines to also naming the store where such goods are sold.
Examples of boutique in a Sentence
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2025
As the owner of the luxury boutique Antidote, Amos was more serious discussing how the tariffs will hike up prices, but she too was resolved.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 4 Apr. 2025
Sign In Runway April 4, 2025 Designer Danielle Frankel at her just opened Los Angeles boutique.
—Mark Holgate, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2025
And Chelsea has been ominously repeating that bad things happen in threes, and she's already almost died two times, when the hotel boutique was robbed and when Rick set those poisonous snakes free.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for boutique
Cite this Entry
“Boutique.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boutique. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boutique
noun
from French boutique "shop"
Legal Definition
boutique
noun
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