Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TA'BLE, n. [Fr. from L. tabula; It. tavola; Sp. tabla; W. tavell, a flat mass, a tablet, a slice, a spread; tâb, tâv, a spread, an extended surface; tavlu, to throw, to project; tavu, to spread or overspread; Sax. tæfl, a die, a table-man; D. tafel, a board, a table, whence in ships, tafferel; G. and Sw. tafel, a board or table; Russ. id.; Fr. tableau, a picture.]

1. A flat surface of some extent, or a thing that has a flat surface; as, a table of marble.
2. An article of furniture, consisting usually of a frame with a surface of boards or of marble, supported by legs, and used for a great variety of purposes, as for holding dishes of meat, for writing on, &c. The nymph the table spread. Pope.
3. Fare or entertainment of provisions; as, he keeps a good table.
4. The persons sitting at table or partaking of entertainment. I drink to th' general joy of the whole table. Shak.
5. A tablet; a surface on which any thing is written or engraved. The ten commandments were written on two tables of stone. Exod. xxxii. Written– not on tables of stone, but on fleshy tables of the heart. 2 Cor. iii.
6. A picture, or something that exhibits a view of any thing on a flat surface. Saint Anthony has a table that hangs up to him from a poor peasant. Addison.
7. Among Christians, the table, or Lord's table, is the sacrament, or holy communion of the Lord's supper.
8. The altar of burnt-offering. Mal. i.
9. In architecture, a smooth, simple member or ornament of various forms, most usually in that of a long square.
10. In perspective, a plain surface, supposed to be transparent and perpendicular to the horizon. It is called also perspective plane. Cyc.
11. In anatomy, a division of the cranium or skull. The cranium is composed of two tables or lamins, with a cellular structure between them, called the meditullium or diplöe. Cyc. Wistar.
12. In the glass manufacture, a circular sheet of finished glass, usually about four feet in diameter, each weighing from ten to eleven pounds. Twelve of these are called a side or crate of glass.
13. In literature, an index; a collection of heads or principal matters contained in a book, with reference to the pages where each may be found; as, a table of contents. Watts.
14. A synopsis; many particulars brought into one view. B. Jonson.
15. The palm of the hand. Mistress of a fairer table / Hath not history nor fable. B. Jonson.
16. Draughts; small pieces of wood shifted on squares. We are in the world like men playing at tables. Taylor.
17. In mathematics, tables are systems of numbers calculated to be ready for expediting operations; as, a table of logarithms; a multiplication table.
18. Astronomical tables, are computations of the motions, places and other phenomena of the planets, both primary and secondary. Cyc.
19. In chimistry, a list or catalogue of substances or their properties; as, a table of known acids; a table of acidifiable bases; a table of binary combinations; a table of specific gravities. Lavoisier.
20. In general, any series of numbers formed on mathematical or other correct principles.
21. A division of the ten commandments; as, the first and second tables. The first table comprehends our more immediate duties to God; the second table our more immediate duties to each other.
22. Among jewelers, a table diamond or other precious stone, is one whose upper surface is quite flat, and the sides only cut in angles. Cyc.
23. A list or catalogue; as, a table of stars. Raised table, in sculpture, an embossment in a frontispiece for an inscription or other ornament, supposed to be the abacus of Vitruvius. Cyc. Round table. Knights of the round table, are a military order instituted by Arthur, the first king of the Britons, A. D. 516. Twelve tables, the laws of the Romans, so called probably, because engraved on so many tables. To turn the tables, to change the condition or fortune of contending parties; a metaphorical expression taken from the vicissitudes of fortune in gaming. Dryden. To serve tables, to provide for the poor; or to distribute provisions for their wants. Acts vi.