Etymologically
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tableau

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ta.blo/[1]

Forms

tableau m (plural tableaux)[1] Tabliau, tablel (13th–14th centuries), taveliaus (Lille, 1351); tableau from 1538.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French table + -eau, from table and the diminutive suffix.[2][4][5][6] Etymonline traces the suffix to Latin -ellus.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Adenet le Roi's Cléomadès (about 1280) a tabliau is a target for javelin-throwing.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century it was a wooden board for public notices (1351), a writing board for children, and a gold panel bearing images (1328).[2] In 1355 it named a picture painted on a rigid panel, now its main sense; from it came une ombre au tableau “a fly in the ointment” (1667).[2] By extension it is a group of images like a painting (1559, Ronsard), a vivid description in words (1612), a scene in the theatre (1758, Diderot) and a division of an act (1842).[2]

The idea of a board gave a list displayed for consultation, such as tableau d'avancement “promotion list”, a table of data seen at a glance (1783), the blackboard (tableau noir, 1854, George Sand), a switchboard (1890) and the dashboard of a car (1905).[2][3] English took tableau “picturesque description” in the 1690s, and tableau vivant in 1817.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1280 – Tabliau “target”, Adenet le Roi.[2]
  • 1351 – A notice board, at Lille.[2]
  • 1355 – A painting on a panel.[2]
  • 1612 – A description in words.[2]
  • 1667 – Une ombre au tableau.[2]
  • 1783 – A table of data, Louis-Sébastien Mercier.[2]
  • 1854 – Tableau noir, George Sand.[3]
  • 1905 – The dashboard of a car.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A painting, picture: un tableau de Rembrandt.[8][1]
  2. A scene, a sight; a vivid description: brosser le tableau de la situation, une ombre au tableau.[2][8]
  3. (theatre) A tableau, a division of an act, tableau vivant.[2][1]
  4. A board: tableau noir, tableau blanc, a blackboard, whiteboard, tableau d'affichage, notice board.[3][1]
  5. Tableau de bord: a dashboard; an instrument panel.[3][1]
  6. A table, chart: tableau périodique; a list: tableau d'honneur.[1][2]
  7. Tableau de chasse: the game killed in a hunt; figuratively one's conquests.[1]

Word family

  • tableautin
  • table
  • tablette
  • English tableau

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert