tablet English · revision 10305

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=fro tablete|origins=la tabula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtæblət/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, [[bor|fro|tablete|t=small table, display counter]] (modern French tablette),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) a diminutive of table, a slab (see [[table]]), from Latin tabula,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) or from Medieval Latin tabuleta.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A slab or flat surface intended to bear an inscription, especially the two stone tables of Moses: about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) about 1315 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A small, portable slab, often covered with wax, for writing was an early use.^(Etymonline) A slab or panel for a painting is from the 16th century (1581),^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) and a stiff sheet or leaf for writing on, usually in a set, from 1611.^(OED 1989) A small flat compressed piece of a drug or sweet, a lozenge or pill, is first recorded in 1582;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the classical Latin diminutive tabella was also used in this sense from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) A pad of writing paper is from 1880, in American English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In Scotland tablet is a sweet made of butter, sugar and condensed milk.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a slab for an inscription.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1581 – a panel for a picture.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1582 – a lozenge or pill.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1611 – a writing leaf.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1880 – a writing pad (US).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small flat [[pill]] of compressed medicine.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A slab of stone or other material bearing an inscription.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A thin rigid sheet used for writing, or a set of them fastened together.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A pad of writing paper glued along one edge.^(AHD)

+ # A small flat cake of a substance such as soap.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(Scotland)'' A sweet made of butter, sugar and condensed milk.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tabloid]]

+ * [[wax tablet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[table]]

+ * [[tabulate]]

+ * [[tableau]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}