tableau
[ ta-bloh, tab-loh ]
/ tæˈbloʊ, ˈtæb loʊ /
noun, plural tab·leaux [ta-blohz, tab-lohz] /tæˈbloʊz, ˈtæb loʊz/, tab·leaus.
a picture, as of a scene.
a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene.
a representation of a picture, statue, scene, etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed.
Solitaire. the portion of a layout to which one may add cards according to suit or denomination.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- table wine,
- table-d'hote,
- table-hop,
- table-rapping,
- table-turning,
- tableau curtain,
- tableau vivant,
- tablecloth,
- tableful,
- tableland
Origin of tableau
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for tableau
tableau
/ (ˈtæbləʊ) /
noun plural -leaux (-ləʊ, -ləʊz) or -leaus
See tableau vivant
a pause during or at the end of a scene on stage when all the performers briefly freeze in position
any dramatic group or scene
logic short for semantic tableau
Word Origin for tableau
C17: from French, from Old French tablel a picture, diminutive of table
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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tableau
1690s, "a picturesque or graphic description or picture," from French tableau "picture, painting," from Old French table "slab, writing tablet" (see table (n.)) + diminutive suffix -eau, from Latin -ellus. Hence tableau-vivant (1817) "person or persons silent and motionless, enacting a well-known scene, incident, painting, etc.," popular 19c. parlor game, literally "living picture."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper