Tavern

See also: Bar (establishment) and Pub
Tavern Scene by Flemish artist David Teniers, c. 1658
A Dutch tavern scene by Jan Steen, late 17th century
Raleigh Tavern, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia
Buckman Tavern, where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired, Lexington, Massachusetts
Parker Tavern, Reading, Massachusetts showing traditional New England saltbox architecture

A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that has a license to put up guests as lodgers. The word derives from the Latin taberna whose original meaning was a shed, workshop, stall, or pub.

Over time, the words "tavern" and "inn" became interchangeable and synonymous. In England, inns started to be referred to as public houses or pubs and the term became standard for all drinking houses.