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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 bodega in a Sentence
Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2025
Zohran Mamdani greets a bodega worker before a press conference on October 29, 2025 in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx borough in New York City.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025
Cosplayers are a community unto themselves, and at NYCC, the likelihood of passing by a fully functioning DIY transformer costume is as great as passing someone on the street who had a bodega bacon, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast.
—Nikki Birch, NPR, 31 Oct. 2025
As of Friday morning, some people reportedly remained trapped by flooding in Cauto del Paso, in the roof of a bodega and on top of a roof of the village’s electric substation, their relatives said on social media.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bodega
Cite this Entry
“Bodega.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bodega. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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