way station

See also:way-stationandwaystation

English

Alternative forms

• way-station,waystation

Pronunciation

Homophone:weigh station

Noun

waystation(pluralway stations)

1. A small railway station between the principal stations or a station where the train stops only on a signal.
2. (figuratively)A service area or temporary lodging used during a longer journey.
   • 1981,William Irwin Thompson,The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture,London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page201:

     At one of theway-stationson his long journey a barmaid at a tavern speaks to Gilgamesh and tries to give him common sense on the human condition.

Synonyms

• stopover
• whistle-stop
• staging post