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card table

card table

11 2.6
A small folding table used for playing card games
  • noun
  • /kɑrd ˈteɪbəl/
translation icon : mesa de cartas
  • We set up a card table in the living room for our weekly poker night.
  • sat at a card table
  • card table and chairs
  • set up card tables

We started with Astroturf and card tables.

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Examples

  • Actually, he is standing near a card table flirting with a girl Conor doesn't quite recognize.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Last night, I sat down at this card table.

  • "Then the Queen plays cards on her card table.

  • And they did the sort right there on a card table.

  • It's not easy to take a seat at this card table.

  • Any old card table will do.

  • A volunteer called out, "We have to set up card tables in here now!"

    Fiction book (1996)
  • We sat at Mrs. Cashman's card table and ate the fish she'd broiled.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Afternoons, you spend at the card table putting together a jigsaw puzzle of Niagara Falls.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Seminarians sold Bibles from a card table, asking forty rubles for the New Testament.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

gaming table
vscard table
3 3.6

A table where people gamble with chips and cards

is small and foldable for casual play such as poker or bridge

How Portable

tray
311 1.0
card table
11 2.6
dining table
12 1.0

Surface Forms

card table singular
card tables plural

Morphology

card + table

The meaning 'a table used for playing card games' is directly and compositionally derived from 'card' (cards) modifying 'table' (furniture), indicating purpose. This modifier+head compound is a common, transparent pattern in English and similar constructions exist in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun card table comes from the simple idea of a small table made for card games. Because these tables were light and folded to put away, a card table now means 'a small, portable or foldable table used for playing card games'.