I. ˈtābəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tabule & Old French table; both from Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin tabula table, from Latin, board, tablet, writing tablet, record, document, list; perhaps akin to Old High German dili, dilla plank, plank floor — more at thill
1.
a. obsolete : a flat slab (as of wood or stone)
the inner part of the temple is … covered with great tables of porphyry — Thomas Washington
b.
(1) : tablet 1a(1)
leave a table in the middle of the panel — Fiske Kimball
write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it — Hab 2:2 (Authorized Version)
(2) : a set of laws inscribed on tablets
the Twelve Tables of Roman law
tables of the decalogue
c. obsolete
(1) : tablet 1b
asked for a writing table , and wrote … his name — Lk 1:63 (Authorized Version)
(2) : an indelible record
the everlasting tables of right reason — Richard Bentley †1742
2.
a.
(1) tables plural : backgammon
(2) : one of the two leaves of a backgammon board or either half of a leaf
white's inner table is opposite black's inner table
play into the home table
b. : a game board
3.
a.
(1) : a piece of furniture consisting of a smooth flat slab fixed on legs or other support and variously used (as for eating, writing, working, or playing games)
(2) : an operating or examining table
put the patient on the table
(3) : an official bench or rostrum
the original of the letter … must be delivered at the table by the member who makes the complaint — T.E.May
b.
(1) : a supply or regular source of food or the manner of its preparation : board , fare
their farms were better and their tables more bountiful than most — R.H.Shryock
spent his teens … as a poor relation at the table of his mother's family — American Guide Series: New York
the table the landlady set was really something special and we ate all we could hold — Emmett Kelly
(2) : an act or instance of assembling to eat : meal , sitting
sit down to table with an ambassador — Agnes M. Miall
if visitors can see into the kitchen while at table , no doubt they will offer to help with the washing up — G.F.Lawson
still hoping … he'll get to eat at the first table — F.B.Gipson
c.
(1) : a group of people (as diners, committeemen, or players in a game) assembled at or as if at a table
the table then spoke of … how bracing the air was — James Joyce
a table of aldermen
a table of bridge
a famous poker table , which challenged all comers — Harvey Fergusson
(2) : a legislative or negotiating session
an ill-armed victor lacks power at the peace table — F.E.Hill
4.
a. : the altar or altar rail at which communicants receive Holy Communion
b. : eucharist 1a
5.
a. : a flat usually raised band or projecting ledge on a wall : stringcourse , water table
b. archaic : panel 3b(2)
6.
a. : a tabular arrangement of data
results of this survey are given in tables in the appendix
specifically : a systematic arrangement (as of numerical values) usually in parallel rows or columns for ready reference
table of weights and measures
table of logarithms
multiplication table
b. : a condensed enumeration : list , synopsis
table of contents
table of organization
offer his little table of oppositions and … let it stand — Carlos Baker
7. : something that resembles a table especially in having a plane surface: as
a.
(1) : the principal facet at the top of a brilliant — see brilliant illustration
(2) : table diamond
b.
(1) : tableland
(2) : level — see water table
c. obsolete
(1) : picture
(2) : the surface on which a picture is painted
(3) : a plane of perspective
d.
(1) : the external or internal layer of compact bone of the skull separated by cancellous diploe
(2) : the flat worn upper surface of a tooth (as of a horse)
e. archaic : a large round sheet of crown glass
f. : a flat or short prismatic crystal
g.
(1) : a flat plate in a machine tool that is often movable and is usually provided with T slots on its upper surfaces to which work can be fastened while it is being processed
(2) : a concentrating table (as for washing or screening coal ore) : settling trough : run
h. : a long flat-bottomed slightly inclined trough down which a slurry of starch and gluten flows slowly so that the heavier starch particles settle out while the gluten runs off
i. : belly 5f
•
- on the table
- under the table
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from table (I)
1. obsolete : of or relating to backgammon
your table players, and other gamesters — James Mabbe
2.
a. : of, relating to, or used on a table
table mat
table lamp
table model
gambling-license holders must pay a table tax to the state — J.F.McDonald
b. : raised or processed for table use : suitable for human consumption
table bird
3. : resembling a table : having a plane surface
table rock
table reef
table -jawed tweezers
4. : tabular
table matter
table work
5. : of, relating to, or mounted on the table of a machine
table vise
tool has more teeth in cutters allowing for increased table feed per minute — Steel
III. verb
( tabled ; tabled ; tabling -b(ə)liŋ ; tables )
Etymology: Middle English tablen, from table (I)
transitive verb
1. : to enter on a table : tabulate
quarterly distribution … is as tabled below — T.J.Grayson
2. : to provide with food : feed
tabled in midmorning they ate sour pickles — Thomas Wolfe
3.
a. Britain : to place on the agenda : submit for discussion
research groups prepare the draft bills tabled by … parliamentary representatives — Barbara & Robert North
b. : to lay on the table
the hydroelectric project has been tabled, revived, tabled again — E.W.Smith
c. : to put on a table
ale, for which he too used to table his twopence — Thomas Carlyle
florists tabled a large … assortment of cut flowers — Gardeners' Chronicle
4.
a. archaic : scarf IV 1
b. : to strengthen (a sail) by making a broad hem on the edges attached to the boltrope
5. : to wash or screen on a table
table ground ore
6. : to sediment (starch) by use of a table
intransitive verb
archaic : to take food : board , eat