coffee tablen.
/ˈkɒfɪ teɪbl/, U.S. /ˈkɔfi ˌteɪb(ə)l/, /ˈkɑfi ˌteɪb(ə)l/ Originally: a table from which coffee is served, or at which coffee is drunk. Later: a low table, typically placed adjacent to seating, on which drinks, snacks and other items are placed.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > coffee table
coffee table1679
long john1949
1679 Observ. Last Dutch Wars 7 This Engagement was fought over again at the Coffee Table, and the Dutch routed by those who only carry in their Noddles the models of Fights, and the valour of Soldiers in their Fancies.
1693 E. Settle New Athenian Comedy i. 1 Mr. Freeman and Mr. Hardy discover'd smoaking at a Coffee Table.
1737 True Copy Last Will & Test. George Clarke Esq. 23 One large Silver Coffee-Table, one Silver Standish.., and one Silver Bell.
1843 Ladies' Cabinet Mar. 147 The family were seated round the coffee table in the arbour, and a diversified conversation was interchanged between them.
1875 Scribner's Monthly June 181/2 (caption) Coffee-table with chair, both of black wood.
1912 Observer 7 July 20/4 At a luncheon party..two or three of our brilliant conversationalists were grouped round the coffee table.
1959 J. Braine Vodi xxi. 229 I'm going to..buy a little coffee-table from Woolworth's.
2013 N. G. Gates Day Cat ran Away (2015) xxvi. 188 Greta already had a tray on the coffee table with a pitcher of iced tea and an assortment of fancy cookies.
Compounds
As a modifier. Designating a large, expensive-looking book that is intended for display or casual browsing, and typically contains many photographs or other illustrations; esp. in coffee table book. Also designating a magazine, etc., with a similar appearance and purpose.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > kind of book > [noun] > ornamental book
tablebook1832
furniture1928
coffee table book1960
1960 Daily Mail 20 Oct. 8/1 Nor do I mean only the bonzer known in the trade as the ‘coffee-table book’..left around to display taste and status.
1966 Archit. Rev. 139 419/4 This has the format and lavish presentation of the fashionable coffee-table volume, but deserves to be taken more seriously.
1973 Sunday Tel. 11 Feb. 18/4 Do you fancy yourself featuring with radiant, trendy smugness in that lush coffee-table tome ‘Great Contemporary Art Collectors’?
1988 Times 8 June 14/1 The coffee table book has been replaced by the coffee table magazine, many projecting an idealized image of rural life and an unattainable standard of gracious living.
2019 Toronto Star (Nexis) 15 Oct. (Life section) 1 Take a leisurely flip through this gorgeous coffee-table picture book and let your imagination run wild.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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n.1679