- table-d'hôte
- "common table for guests at a hotel," from Fr., lit. "table of the host."
- table (v.)
- in parliamentary sense, 1718, originally "to lay on the (speaker's) table for discussion," from table (n.). But in U.S. political jargon it has the sense of "to postpone indefinitely" (1866).
- table (n.)
- c.1175, "board, slab, plate," from O.Fr. table "board, plank, writing table, picture" (11c.), and late O.E. tabele, from W.Gmc. *tabal (cf. O.H.G. zabel, Ger. Tafel), both from L. tabula "a board, plank, table," originally "small flat slab or piece" usually for inscriptions or for games, of uncertain origin, related to Umbrian tafle "on the board." The sense of "piece of furniture with the flat top and legs" first recorded c.1300 (the usual L. word for this was mensa; O.E. writers used bord). The meaning "arrangement of numbers or other figures for convenience" is recorded from c.1386 (e.g. table of contents, 1460). Tablecloth is from 1467; tablespoon is 1763; tableware first recorded 1852. Fig. phrase turn the tables (1634) is from backgammon (in O.E. and M.E. the game was called tables). Table talk is attested from 1569, translating L. colloquia mensalis. To table-hop is first recorded 1956. The adj. phrase under-the-table "hidden from view" is recorded from 1949; under the table "passed out from excess drinking" is recorded from 1921. Table tennis is recorded from 1887.
- tablet
- early 14c., "slab or flat surface for an inscription" (especially the two Mosaic tables of stone), from O.Fr. tablete (13c.), dim. of table "slab" (see table). The meaning "lozenge, pill" is first recorded 1580s; that of "pad of writing paper" in 1880.
- tableau
- 1699, "a picturesque or graphic description or picture," from Fr. tableau "picture, painting," from O.Fr. table "slab, writing tablet" (see table) + dim. suffix -eau, from L. -ellus. Hence tableau-vivant (1817) "person or persons silent and motionless, enacting a well-known scene, incident, painting, etc.," popular 19c. parlor game, lit. "living picture."
- mesa
- "high table land," 1759, from Sp. mesa, lit. "table," from L. mensa "table" (cf. Rum. masa, O.Fr. moise "table").
- mensa
- "altar top," 1848, from L., lit. "table," hence used in Church L. for "upper slab of an altar." With a capital M-, the name of an organization for people of IQs of 148 or more founded in England in 1946, the name chosen, according to the organization, to suggest a "round table" type group.
- smorgasbord
- 1893, from Swed. smörgåsbord "open sandwich table," lit. "butter-goose table," from smörgås, which is said to mean "bread and butter," but is compounded from smör "butter" (related to smear) and gås, lit. "goose" (and from the root of Eng. goose), which is said to have a secondary meaning of "a clump(of butter)." The final element is bord "table" (cf. board (n.1)). Fig. sense of "medley, miscellany" is recorded from 1948.
- tabulate
- 1734, "to put into form of a table," from L. tabula (see table). Tabulation is from 1837.
- stammtisch
- 1938, "table reserved for regular customers in a Ger. restaurant," from Ger. Stammtisch, from Stamm "cadre," lit. "tree, trunk" + tisch "table."
- tabular
- "table-shaped," 1656, from L. tabularis "of a slab or tablet," from tabula "slab" (see table).
- board (1)
- O.E. bord "a plank, flat surface," from P.Gmc. *bortham (cf. Goth. fotu-baurd "foot-stool," Ger. Brett "plank"), from PIE *bhrdho- "board," from base *bher- "to cut." See also board (2), with which this is so confused as practically to form one word. A board is thinner than a plank, and generally less than 2.5 inches thick. The transf. meaning "food" (1386) is an extension of the late O.E. sense of "table;" hence, also, above board "honest, open" (1620). A further extension is to "table where council is held" (1575), then transf. to "leadership council, council (that meets at a table)," 1613. Boarding-school is from 1677.
- dresser
- "table, sideboard," c.1393, from O.Fr. dresseur "table to prepare food," from dresser "prepare, dress" (see dress (v.)). Meaning of "chest, dressing bureau" appeared 1895.
- tablature
- type of musical notation for lute or stringed instrument, 1574, from Fr. tablature (1553), from L. tabula "table" (see table); infl. by It. tavolatura, from tavolare "to board, plank, enclose with boards."
- dais
- mid-13c., from Anglo-Fr. deis, from O.Fr. dais "table, platform," from L. discus "disk-shaped object," also, by medieval times, "table," from Gk. diskos "quoit, disk, dish." Died out in Eng. c.1600, preserved in Scotland, revived 19c. by antiquarians.
- counter (n.)
- mid-14c., "table where a money lender does business," from O.Fr. contouer "counting room, table of a bank," from M.L. computatorium "place of accounts," from L. computare (see compute). Generalized 19c. from banks to shops, then extended to display cases for goods. Countertop is attested from 1878. Phrase under the counter is from 1926.
- syllabus
- 1656, "table of contents of a series of lectures, etc.," from L.L. syllabus "list," a misreading of Gk. sittybos (pl. of sittyba "parchment label, table of contents," of unknown origin) in a 1470s edition of Cicero's "Ad Atticum" iv.5 and 8. The proper plural would be syllabi,
- periodic
- 1642, from Fr. périodique (14c.), from L. periodicus, from periodus (see period). Periodical "magazine that publishes regularly" is first attested 1798. Periodic table in chemistry is from notion of the arrangement, in which similar properties recur at intervals in elements in the same area as you read down the rows of the table. This sense of the word is attested fromj 1872.
- the
- late O.E. þe, nom. masc. form of the demonstrative pronoun and adj. After c.950, it replaced earlier se (masc.), seo (fem.), þæt (neut.), and probably represents se altered by the þ- form which was used in all the masc. oblique cases (see below). O.E. se is from PIE base *so- "this, that" (cf. Skt. sa, Avestan ha, Gk. ho, he "the," Ir., Gael. so "this"). For the þ- forms, see that. The s- forms were entirely superseded in Eng. by c.1250, excepting dial. survival slightly longer in Kent. O.E. used 10 different words for "the" (see table, below), but did not distinguish "the" from "that." That survived for a time as a definite article before vowels (cf. that one or that other). Adv. use in the more the merrier, the sooner the better, etc. is a relic of O.E. þy, originally the instrumentive case of the neuter demonstrative þæt (see that).
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural Nom. se seo þæt þa Acc. þone þa þæt þa Gen. þæs þære þæs þara Dat. þæm þære þæm þæm Inst. þy, þon -- þy, þon -- - tole
- "ornamented and painted sheet iron," 1946, from Fr. tôle "sheet iron," from dial. taule "table," from L. tabula "a flat board" (see table).
- this
- O.E. þis, neuter demonstrative pronoun and adj. (masc. þes, fem. þeos), probably from a North Sea Gmc. pronoun formed by combining the base *þa- (see that) with -s, which is probably identical with O.E. se "the" (representing here "a specific thing"), but it may be O.E. seo, imperative of see (v.) "to behold." Cf. O.S. these, O.N. þessi, Du. deze, O.Fris. this, O.H.G. deser, Ger. dieser. Once fully inflected, with 10 distinct forms (see table below); the oblique cases and other genders gradually fell away by 15c. The O.E. plural was þæs (nom. and acc.), which in Northern M.E. became thas, and in Midlands and Southern England became thos. The Southern form began to be used late 13c. as the plural of that (replacing M.E. tho, from O.E. þa) and acquired an -e (apparently from the influence of M.E. adj. plurals in -e; cf. alle from all, summe from sum "some"), emerging early 14c. as modern those. About 1175 thes (probably a variant of O.E. þæs) began to be used as the plural of this, and by 1200 it had taken the form these, the final -e acquired via the same mechanism that gave one to those.
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural Nom. þes þeos þis þas Acc. þisne þas þis þas Gen. þisses þisse þisses þissa Dat. þissum þisse þissum þissum Inst. þys þisse þys þissum - commensal
- "one who eats at the same table," c.1400, from O.Fr. commensal, from M.L. commensalis, from com- "together" + mensa (gen. mensalis) "table." Biological sense attested from 1870.
- trapezium
- 1570, from L.L. trapezium, from Gk. trapezion "irregular quadrilateral," lit. "a little table," dim. of trapeza "table," from tra- "four" (see four) + peza "foot, edge," related to pous (see foot). Before 1546, L. editions of Euclid used the Arabic word helmariphe. As the name of a bone in the wrist, it is recorded from 1840.
- abacus
- late 14c., "sand table for drawing, calculating, etc.," from L. abacus, from Gk. abax (gen. abakos) "counting table," from Heb. abaq "dust," from root a-b-q "to fly off." Originally a drawing board covered with dust or sand that could be written on to do mathematical equations. Specific reference to a counting frame is 17c. or later.
- bank (1)
- "financial institution," late 15c., from either O.It. banca or M.Fr. banque (itself from the O.It. word), both meaning "table" (the notion is of the moneylender's exchange table), from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. bank "bench"); see bank (2). The verb meaning "to put confidence in" (U.S. colloquial) is attested from 1884. Bank holiday is from 1871, though the tradition is as old as the Bank of England. To cry all the way to the bank was coined 1956 by flamboyant pianist Liberace, after a Madison Square Garden concert that was packed with patrons but panned by critics.
- taffrail
- 1814, alteration of tafferel "upper panel on the stern of a ship (often ornamented)" (1704), earlier, "a carved panel" (1622), from Du. tafereel "panel for painting or carving," dissimulation from *tafeleel, dim. of tafel "table," from the general W.Gmc. borrowing of L. tabula "slab, board" (see table). The word developed in Du. from the custom of ornamenting the high, flat stern of old sailing ships; spelling and sense altered in Eng. by infl. of rail (n.).
- shambles
- late 15c., "meat or fish market," from schamil "table, stall for vending" (c.1300), from O.E. scomul, sceamel "stool, footstool, table for vending," an early W.Gmc. borrowing (cf. O.S. skamel, M.Du. schamel, O.H.G. scamel, Ger. schemel) from L. scamillus "low stool," ultimately a dim. of scamnum "stool, bench," from PIE base *skabh- "to prop up, support." In English, sense evolved to "slaughterhouse" (1540s), "place of butchery" (1590s), and "confusion, mess" (1901).
- karoo
- "barren table land in S. Africa," 1789, said to be from a Hottentot word meaning "dry."
- he
- O.E. he (see paradigm of O.E. third pers. pronoun below), from P.Gmc. *hiz, from P.Gmc. base *khi-, from PIE *ki-, the "this, here" (as opposed to "that, there") root (cf. Hittite ki "this," Gk. ekeinos "that person," O.C.S. si, Lith. sis "this"), and thus the source of the third person pronouns in O.E. The feminine, hio, was replaced in early M.E. by forms from other stems (see she), while the h- wore off O.E. neut. hit to make modern it. The P.Gmc. root is also the source of the first element in Ger. heute "today," lit. "the day" (cf. O.E. heodæg). Slang he-man "masculine fellow" is from 1832, originally among U.S. pioneers.
case SINGULAR - - PLURAL - masc. neut. fem. (all genders) nom. he hit heo, hio hie, hi acc. hine hit hie, hi hie, hi gen. his his hire hira, heora dat. him him hire him, heom - chador
- "cloth worn as a shawl by Muslim women," from Persian chadar "tent, mantle, scarf, veil, sheet, table-cloth."
- davenport
- "large upholstered couch," 1897, apparently named for the manufacturer. Earlier (1853) "a kind of small ornamental writing table." The proper name is attested from 12c., from a place in Cheshire (O.E. Devennport).
- buffet (n.)
- "table," 1718, from Fr. buffet "bench," of uncertain origin. Sense extended 1888 to "meal served from a buffet."
- humor
- 1340, "fluid or juice of an animal or plant," from Anglo-Norm. humour, from O.Fr. humor, from L. umor "body fluid" (also humor, by false assoc. with humus "earth"), related to umere "be wet, moist," and to uvescere "become wet." In ancient and medieval physiology, "any of the four body fluids" (blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy or black bile) whose relative proportions were thought to determine state of mind. This led to a sense of "mood, temporary state of mind" (first recorded 1525); the sense of "amusing quality, funniness" is first recorded 1682, probably via sense of "whim, caprice" (1565), which also produced the verb sense of "indulge," first attested 1588. "The pronunciation of the initial h is only of recent date, and is sometimes omitted ...." [OED] Humorous in the modern sense is first recorded 1705. For types of humor, see the useful table below, from H.W. Fowler ["Modern English Usage," 1926].
device HUMOR WIT SATIRE SARCASM INVECTIVE IRONY CYNICISM SARDONIC motive/aim discovery throwing light amendment inflicting pain discredit exclusiveness self-justification self-relief province human nature words & ideas morals & manners faults & foibles misconduct statement of facts morals adversity method/means observation surprise accentuation inversion direct statement mystification exposure of nakedness pessimism audience the sympathetic the intelligent the self-satisfied victim & bystander the public an inner circle the respectable the self - aboveboard
- 1610s, from above and board (1). "A figurative expression borrowed from gamesters, who, when they put their hands under the table, are changing their cards." [Johnson]
- runner
- c.1300, from run (v.). Meaning "smuggler" first recorded 1721; sense of "embroidered cloth for a table" is from 1889. Runner-up is from 1842, originally in dog racing.
- round (adj., adv.)
- c.1290, from Anglo-Fr. rounde, O.Fr. roont, probably originally *redond, from V.L. *retundus (cf. Prov. redon, Sp. redondo, O.It. ritondo), from L. rotundus "like a wheel, circular, round," related to rota "wheel" (see rotary). The O.Fr. word is the source of M.Du. ront (Du. rond), M.H.G. runt (Ger. rund) and similar Gmc. words. In many uses it is an aphetic form of around. First record of round trip is from 1860. Round number is 1646, from earlier sense of "full, complete" (1340, sense of symmetry extended to that of completeness); roundhouse (1589) is from Du. rondhuis "guardhouse." King Arthur's Round Table is attested from c.1300, from O.Fr. table ronde (1155, in Wace's Roman de Brut). Roundhead "adherent of Parliamentary party in the English Civil War" (1641) is from their custom of wearing the hair close-cropped, in contrast to the flowing curls of the cavaliers. Round heels attested from 1926, in ref. to incompetent boxers, 1927 in ref. to loose women, in either case implying an inability to avoid ending up flat on one's back.
- salt (n.)
- O.E. sealt (n. and adj.), from P.Gmc. *saltom (cf. O.S., O.N., O.Fris., Goth. salt, Du. zout, Ger. Salz), from PIE *sal- "salt" (cf. Gk. hals (gen. halos) "salt, sea," L. sal, O.C.S. soli, O.Ir. salann, Welsh halen, O.C.S. sali "salt"). Meaning "experienced sailor" is first attested 1840, in ref. to the salinity of the sea. Salt was long regarded as having power to repel spiritual and magical evil. Many metaphoric uses reflect that this was once a rare and important resource, cf. worth one's salt (1830), salt of the earth (O.E., after Matt. v:13). Belief that spilling salt brings bad luck is attested from 16c. To be above (or below) the salt (1597) refers to customs of seating at a long table according to rank or honor, and placing a large salt-cellar in the middle of the dining table. The verb is from O.E. sealtan, from P.Gmc. *salto-. Salt-lick first recorded 1751; salt marsh is O.E. sealtne mersc. Salt-and-pepper "of dark and light color" first recorded 1915. To take something with a grain of salt is from 1647, from Mod.L. cum grano salis. Saltine "salted cracker" is from 1907; salt-water taffy (1894) so called because it originally was sold at seashore resorts, esp. Atlantic City, N.J.
- boardroom
- from board in the sense of "table where council is held" + room.
- croupier
- "one who clears the winnings from the table in gambling," 1731, from Fr. croupier, originally one who rides behind another, on the croup or "rump" of a horse; hence extended to any one who backs up another; a "second."
- turntable
- 1835, originally in the railroad sense, from turn + table. The record player sense is attested from 1908.
- isotope
- 1913, introduced by British chemist Frederick Soddy (1877-1956) on suggestion of Margaret Todd, from Gk. isos "equal" + topos "place;" so called because despite the different atomic weights, the various forms of an element occupy the same place on the periodic table.
- cupboard
- early 14c., "a board or table to place cups and like objects," from cup + board. As a type of closed cabinet for food, etc., from early 16c.
- plutonium
- 1942, from Pluto, the planet (see Pluto), the element named on suggestion of Seaborg and Wahl because it follows neptunium in the periodic table as Pluto follows Neptune in the Solar System.
- coaster
- 1570s, "one who sails along coasts," from coast in verbal sense. Applied to vessels for such sailing from 1680s. Tabletop drink stand (c.1887), originally "round tray for a decanter," so called from a resemblance to a sled, or because it "coasted" around the table to each guest in turn after dinner. (Coast (v.) in sense "to go around the sides or border" of something is from mid-14c.)
- abecedary
- "primer, alphabet table," mid-15c., from M.L. abecedarium "an ABC book," neut. of adj. abecedarius, used as a noun, from the first four letters of the Latin alphabet. Abecedarian (adj.) is attested from 1660s.
- tournedos
- fillet of steak dish, 1877, from Fr., from tourner "to turn" (see turn) + dos "back." According to Fr. etymologists, "so called because the dish is traditionally not placed on the table but is passed behind the backs of the guests" [OED]. But there are other theories.
- a la carte
- 1826, from Fr. à la carte, lit. "by the card" (see card (n.)); in other words, "ordered by separate items." Distinguished from a table d'hôte, meal served at a fixed, inclusive price.
- roster
- 1727, from Du. rooster "table, list," originally "gridiron," from M.Du. roosten "to roast" (see roast). So called from the grid of lines drawn on a paper to make a list.
- banquet
- late 15c., from Fr. banquet (15c.; in O.Fr. only "small bench"), from O.It. banchetto, dim. of banco "bench;" originally a snack eaten on a bench (rather than at table), hence "a slight repast between meals;" the meaning has entirely reversed.
- ping-pong (n.)
- 1900, as Ping-Pong, trademark for table tennis equipment (Parker Brothers). Both words are imitative of the sound of the ball hitting the paddle; from ping (q.v.) + pong, attested from 1823. The verb is from 1901; in the figurative sense, 1952.