operating table
18
2.5
- noun
- /ˈɑːpəˌreɪtɪŋ ˈteɪbəl/
- Specialized
:
mesa de operaciones
- The surgeon carefully prepared the instruments on the operating table before beginning the procedure.
- head of the operating table
And even after they've been on my operating table, I don't want them coming back.
- And even after they've been on my operating table, I don't want them coming back.
Examples
-
Dr. Turner and the team work with quiet precision as Mike lies on the operating table, his chest wide open.
Fiction book (2002) -
We must have the recipient on the operating table within six hours.
-
And at half past 1:00, she was in the hospital... lying flat on her back on the operating table.
-
The patient is placed supine on the operating table with the head turned so that the involved side is up.
Academic text (1996) -
Ekman takes Kafka by the arm to lead him toward the operating table.
Fiction book (1991) -
Parker lies on an operating table, receiving anesthesia, as a surgeon drills a small hole into his skull.
Fiction book (1996) -
After being wheeled into the surgery room, the patient lay still on the operating table, ready for the operation.
-
The nurse checked the equipment next to the operating table to ensure everything was in order for the surgery.
How Adjustable
- Specialized
18
2.5
- Specialized
53
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a table used during surgery' is directly derivable from combining 'operate' (to perform surgery) with 'table'—the participle 'operating' functions attributively to indicate the table's purpose. This verb+table compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun operating table comes from the simple picture of a patient lying on a flat table while doctors perform an operation, with lights and instruments ready around them. So, operating table means 'a special table on which a patient lies during surgery'.