Etymologically
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tablet

Etymology and origin of the English word tablet

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1300
Borrowed from
Old French tablete
Ultimate origin
Latin (tabula)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtæblət/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Old French tablete (“small table, display counter”) (modern French tablette),[2][3][4] a diminutive of table, a slab (see table), from Latin tabula,[2][3][5] or from Medieval Latin tabuleta.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A slab or flat surface intended to bear an inscription, especially the two stone tables of Moses: about 1300,[2][3] about 1315 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

A small, portable slab, often covered with wax, for writing was an early use.[3] A slab or panel for a painting is from the 16th century (1581),[4][6] and a stiff sheet or leaf for writing on, usually in a set, from 1611.[6] A small flat compressed piece of a drug or sweet, a lozenge or pill, is first recorded in 1582;[2][4] the classical Latin diminutive tabella was also used in this sense from the 1690s.[3] A pad of writing paper is from 1880, in American English.[2][6][3] In Scotland tablet is a sweet made of butter, sugar and condensed milk.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a slab for an inscription.[2]
  • 1581 – a panel for a picture.[6]
  • 1582 – a lozenge or pill.[2]
  • 1611 – a writing leaf.[6]
  • 1880 – a writing pad (US).[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small flat pill of compressed medicine.
  2. A slab of stone or other material bearing an inscription.
  3. A thin rigid sheet used for writing, or a set of them fastened together.
  4. A pad of writing paper glued along one edge.
  5. A small flat cake of a substance such as soap.
  6. (Scotland) A sweet made of butter, sugar and condensed milk.

Word family

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tablet.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tablet. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·