A kitchenette is a cooking area in motel and hotel rooms, small apartments, college dormitories, or office buildings. It usually consists of a small refrigerator, a microwave oven, a hotplate, and a sink. New York City Building Code defines a kitchenette as a kitchen of less than 7.4 m² (80 ft²) of floor space.^[1]

The term was coined by Andrew J. Kerwin in the pages of The New Yorker magazine.^[2] He used the diminutive -ette to indicate a small kitchen.

References

1. ^ Department of Buildings. "Interior Environment". New York City. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
2. ^ Editor (1938). "Jottings". American Speech. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.