Table and furniture

A table is a piece of furniture composed of a horizontal surface and a base. It is often used to hold objects or food at a convenient or comfortable height when sitting. Generic tables are typically meant for combined use with chairs. Tables do not normally have drawers, but when they do, they are variously called commodes, lowboys or dressers. A table specifically intended for working is a desk.

The term "table" is derived from a merger of French table and Old English table (related to Old High German zabel and Modern German Tafel), both of which are ultimately derived from the Latin word tabula "a board, plank, flat piece". In Late Latin, tabula took over the meaning previously reserved to mensa (preserved in Spanish mesa "table"). In Old English, the word replaced board for this meaning.

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Tables come in a wide variety of shapes, height, and material, depending on their origin, style and intended use. All tables are composed of a flat surface and a base that may comprise of one or more legs. The surface may be virtually of any shape, although rectangular, square, round (a Round table) and oval tops are the most frequent. A table may be freestanding or meant to be placed against a wall (a console table). It might have more or less than four legs. A table with a single, central foot is a pedestal table. Long tables often have extra feet for support. Some tables have higher surfaces for standing at, or sitting with a tall stool.

For some tables the top surface can be adjusted in size, with a part that is foldable or can slide under the rest. Some tables are entirely foldable for easy transport, e.g. camping. Small tables in trains and planes may be fixed or foldable, although they are usually some sort of shelf rather than a table.

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A table can be used temporarily for objects such as food and eating utensils during a meal, cups for drinks, a book (especially a big one, that one can not easily keep in one's hands), a spread-out map, writing paper during writing, and anything that requires having several objects at hand, including various hobbies. Tables are frequently used to drop small items such as keychains or pens until further use. Tables sometimes substitute for other pieces of furniture, such as chairs and beds that require little more than a flat surface to accomplish their basic goal.

Things may also be put more permanently on a table, for example a TV, computer, objects for decoration (such as vases or tablecloths) etc. Table settings of food are laid out in a traditional arrangement.

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The first tables were made and used by the Egyptians, and were little more than metal or stone platforms used to keep objects off the floor. They were not used for seating people. Food was put on large plates deposed on a pedestal for eating. The Egyptians made use of various small tables and elevated playing boards.

The Greeks and Romans made more frequent use of tables, notably for eating, although Greek tables were pushed under the beds after use. The Greeks invented a piece of furniture very similar to the guéridon. Tables were made of marble or wood and metal (typically bronze or silver alloys). Later, the larger rectangular tables were made of separate platforms and pillars. The Romans also introduced a large, semicircular table to Italy, the mensa lunata.

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Furniture during the Middle Ages is not as well-known as that of earlier or later periods, and most sources show the types used by the nobility. In the Eastern Roman Empire, tables were made of metal or wood, usually with four feet frequently linked by x-shaped stretchers. Tables for eating were large, usually round or semicircular. A combination of a small round table and a lectern seemed very popular as a writing table[2]. In western Europe, the invasions and intestine wars caused most of the knowledge inherited from the classical era to be lost. As a result of the necessary movability, most tables were simply boards on trestles, although small round tables made from joinery reappeared during the 15th century and onward. In the Gothic era, the chest became widespread an was often used as a table.

Refectory tables first appeared in the 16th century as an evolution of the trestle table.