■ noun
1》 a flat slab of stone, clay, or wood, used especially for an inscription.
↘ Architecture another term for table (in sense 3).
2》 chiefly Brit. a pill.
3》 Brit. a small flat piece of soap.
4》 N. Amer. a writing pad.
5》 a token giving authority for a train to proceed over a single-track line.
Origin
ME: from OFr. ~e , from a dimin. of L. tabula (see table ).