Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “table” come from?

Table comes from Middle English tabil, from Old French table, from Latin tabula, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European teh₂-.

table (English): Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a...

Definitions

  1. Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a...

Ancestry of “table”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishtableA table; A level writing surface; Any level...
2Old Frenchtabletable
3Latintabulatablet, sometimes a tablet covered with wax for...
4Proto-Italic*taðlā—

Words derived from “table”

  • tables
  • tab
  • tablespoon
  • timetable
  • tablespoonful
  • tabletop
  • tabulation
  • tablespace
  • tabulate
  • tableland
  • tabbed
  • tableware
  • worktable
  • tabling
  • tableside
  • subtab
  • tableful
  • subtable
  • wavetable
  • tabulator
  • multitable
  • tablework
  • tablemate
  • tablelike
Every word from Proto-Italic *taðlā →