Plural of buttery; rooms or pantries in medieval or university buildings where butter, bread, and other provisions were stored and sometimes sold.
From Middle English 'boterie' and Old French 'bouterie,' from 'bote' (cask), referring to storage rooms for provisions. Especially common in Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Cambridge and Oxford universities still have butteries where students can buy snacks—it's one of the oldest continuous food service systems in the world, dating back to medieval times!
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