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Glite Dictionary
kiddie table

kiddie table

1 3.9
A small table where children eat during family meals
  • noun
  • /ˈkɪdi ˈteɪbəl/
  • US
translation icon : mesa infantil
  • The kiddie table was decorated with colorful balloons to make it more inviting for the kids.
  • sit at the kiddie table

Examples

  • Go sit at the kiddie table.

    Four Brothers (2005)

  • Come on, he belongs at the kiddie table.

    The Florentine (1999)

  • The kiddie table.

    The Florentine (1999)

  • During family gatherings, the children always sit at the kiddie table while the adults dine together.

  • At the party, we set up a kiddie table filled with snacks and drinks just for the little ones.

How Small

kiddie table
  • US
1 3.9
tea table
  • UK
1 2.4
kitchen table
74 1.0
dining table
12 1.0

Surface Forms

kiddie table singular
kiddie tables plural

Morphology

kiddie + table

The meaning is directly compositional: 'kiddie' (child) + 'table' (furniture) easily yields a table for children. This noun+noun diminutive/colloquial pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words should infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The noun kiddie table comes from family meals where a small table was set aside for kiddies. Young children sat there while adults ate at the main table, so the phrase means a small place for 'children' or being kept apart from the grown-ups.