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Tracing “”…
Where does the word "tablet" come from? It comes from Latin tabula, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
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Where does the word "tablet" come from? It comes from Latin tabula, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Tablet’s story begins in Latin: tabula meant “board, tablet.” The root of 'table'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as tablete. A diminutive for writing tablets. It reached English by 1300s as tablet. Medicinal 'tablets' date from the 1500s; computer tablets from the 2000s. Today, tablet means a pill; a flat slab; a portable computer.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient tabula "board, tablet", the root of 'table'.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval tablete "small slab", a diminutive for writing tablets.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s tablet "small flat slab", medicinal 'tablets' date from the 1500s; computer tablets from the 2000s.