The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tables d'hote
Table d'hote \Ta"ble d'h[^o]te"\ (t[.a]"bl' d[=o]t`); pl. Tables d'h[^o]te. [F., literally, table of the landlord.]
A common table for guests at a hotel; an ordinary.
Now, commonly, a meal, usually of several preselected and fixed courses, in a restaurant, hotel, or the like, for which one pays a fixed price. Sometimes, a meal with optional courses for which one pays a fixed price irrespective of what one orders; but the latter is usuallyt referred to as a pris fixe meal or a a la carte meal. Often used adjectively; as, a table-d'h[^o]te meal.