Robin Panza certainly is closest to the definition of "kiosk" as
reported in all of the dictionaries I've seen (5 min. research, less
time than it took to read the various guesses and specialized uses). A
Persian kiosk was indeed a small, open pavilion. Although there are some
characteristically Persian styles of kiosk, basically in most English
language usage it's merely a small, open structure--period. Usage or
function is independent, although the AAT definition suggests that the
usage is usually commercial. My edition of AAt places it in the "single built
works by form" hierarchy--between basilicas and lean-tos (what a range).
There are obvious advantages in restricting the word to a building type
in line with its original meaning, rather than trying to infer a
function from it. You can conduct any kind of business in a kiosk or put
anything in it (almost), but to try to restrict it to a specific,
limited function will cause confusion. I'm not sure what people have in
mind by "computer kiosks," but I've seen computer stations that
defininitely were NOT kiosks and weren't IN kiosks. --David Haberstich