table

Where does the word "table" come from? It comes from Latin tabula, passing through Old French before entering English (1100s).

Table’s story begins in Latin: tabula meant “board, plank.” A flat board or writing tablet, the same root as 'tablet' and 'tabulate'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as table. Applied to boards set on trestles for meals. It reached English by 1100s as table. Replaced Old English 'bord', which survives in 'room and board'. Today, table means a piece of furniture with a flat top on legs; an arrangement of data in rows and columns.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient tabula "board, plank", a flat board or writing tablet, the same root as 'tablet' and 'tabulate'.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval table "dining board", applied to boards set on trestles for meals.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1100s table "a flat-topped piece of furniture", replaced Old English 'bord', which survives in 'room and board'.