tavolo Italian · revision 38355

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1812, Giuseppe Bernardoni|origins=la tabula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈta.vo.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tavolo''' ''m'' (plural tavoli, diminutive tavolino or tavolèllo, augmentative tavolóne)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a masculine form of [[tavola|t=table; board]], which continues [[la|tabula|t=board, plank]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DELI and the GDLI think the masculine was probably modelled on the northern dialects, on [[lmo|tàvol]] of Milan or [[vec|tavolo]] of Venice;^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|20, 778) DEI also calls it a word of northern origin and cites [[egl|tavol]] of Piacenza from 1836.^(DEI|3734) GRADIT gives a simple derivation from the feminine, comparing the Milanese form only as a possibility.^(GRADIT 2003) Wiktionary counts it a doublet of the feminine and of the learned [[tabula]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The feminine is found across Romance: [[fr|table]], [[oc|taula]], [[ca|taula]], [[es|tabla]] and [[pt|tábua]], and Latin passed it into [[goh|tavala]].^(Nocentini 2010) The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan reconstructs [[itc-pro|*taþlā-]] and tentatively analyses it as a root meaning “to stand” with an instrument suffix, so that the board would be “what stands”; others have connected it with [[la|taberna]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Giuseppe Bernardoni's list of faulty words of 1812, which gives ''tavolo'' as used for ''tavola'' or ''tavolino''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI)^(GDLI|20, 778) Renier had pointed to an older plural ''tavoli'' for the board game “tables” in a 15th-century legend of Saint Catherine.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ For most of the 19th century purists condemned the word as a needless double of ''tavola'': Lissoni did so in 1831, Ugolini in 1855 called it an error that many offices stumbled into, and Fanfani and Arlía repeated the ban in 1877.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|20, 778) The word won all the same, and Nocentini notes that it is more common outside Tuscany for the piece of furniture.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The modern division of labour is that ''tavola'' is the table one eats at, while ''tavolo'' is preferred when the use is named, as in ''tavolo da disegno'' or ''tavolo da gioco''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Technical phrases followed: ''tavolo operatorio'' (operating table) in 1902, ''tavolo anatomico'' (dissecting table) in 1931 and ''tavolo di commutazione'' (switchboard desk) in 1961.^(DELI 1999) In the language of newspapers ''tavolo'' came to mean the place or occasion where parties meet to negotiate, and then the negotiation itself, as in ''il tavolo delle trattative''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The ''tavolo verde'', from the green cloth of card tables, stands for gambling.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 15th century – A plural ''tavoli'' for the game of tables appears in a legend of Saint Catherine.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1812 – Giuseppe Bernardoni records ''tavolo''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI)

+ * 1831 – Lissoni condemns the word as an error.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1836 – The Piacentine form ''tavol'' is recorded.^(DEI|3734)

+ * 1855 – Ugolini repeats the ban.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|20, 778)

+ * 1902 – ''Tavolo operatorio'' “operating table” is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1931 – Alfredo Panzini uses ''tavolo anatomico''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|table]], a piece of [[m|en|furniture]] with a flat top on legs, especially one for a particular use: ''Ho prenotato un tavolo vicino alla finestra.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(journalism)'' A place or occasion where parties meet to discuss or [[m|en|negotiate]]: ''il tavolo delle trattative''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(journalism)'' The negotiation or discussion itself: ''Il tavolo tra azienda e sindacati riprende lunedì.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tavolino]]

+ * [[tavolone]]

+ * [[tavolaccio]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tavola]]

+ * [[tabula]]

+ * [[fr|table]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Tavolo'' and ''tavola'' are partly interchangeable, but for the dining table only ''tavola'' is used (''a tavola!'', ''apparecchiare la tavola'').^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Fixed phrases include ''tavolo verde'' (gambling), ''gioco da tavolo'' (board game), ''battere i pugni sul tavolo'' (to put one's foot down) and ''rovesciare il tavolo'' (to break off talks abruptly).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}