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The usage of "service"

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Dear native English speakers

Would the "service" in the passage sound right?

The school lunches TFT provides are both hot and nutritious. Meals such as corn-flour cakes with a sauce of beans and vegetables are served regularly. If this service were stopped, the children would just eat uncooked food such as bananas or tomatoes

If it's all right, what does it mean? I don't think it has the same meaning as the one in "The only trouble with this cafe is that the service is so slow.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin
 
A service is work that someone offers to do for someone else. So yes, it makes perfect sense, and no, it's not different from your other example.
 
I would have to disagree on the assessment of JuliMaruchan. Service | Define Service at Dictionary.com
I would say your first example is definition 1 "an act of helpful activity; help; aid:to do someone a service." while your second sentence is definition 6 "the performance of duties or the duties performed as or by a waiter or servant; occupation or employment as a waiter or servant."
 
All definitions of "service" I can think of are basically the same sort of thing, it's just a matter of context. I've never thought of "service" as meaning what waiters do specifically, I've always thought of it as that the waiters provide a service of waiting on you. That interpretation has never gotten me in trouble so far. I wouldn't even bat an eye if "the service is slow" was said about a cashier lane.
 
I basically agree with @OoTmaster, although of the various definitions of the word 'service' listed on the linked dictionary.com page, I think that definition 2 is a slightly better match with the first example sentence. In the first example sentence, the word 'service' is referring to the supplying of something.
 
The school lunches TFT provides are both hot and nutritious. Meals such as corn-flour cakes with a sauce of beans and vegetables are served regularly. If this service were stopped, the children would just eat uncooked food such as bananas or tomatoes

This "service" is the food that is provided (not the way it is provided, nor the manner), and yes, this usage is completely fine & normal.
 
That's not even possible, a service cannot be a tangible good. The "service" referred to is the act of giving people food, or possibly the act of delivering food. Whatever it is, it is referring to the action of serving people.
 
Using Service | Definition of Service by Merriam-Webster
I think we can rule out #10 the act of a male animal copulating with a female animal

I think the school lunch example is 2c (contribution to the welfare of others) or 2b (help, use, benefit) and the cafe example is 2a (the work performed by one that serves). So the two examples are very similar but not exactly the same.
 
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