table turning

9.9

A spiritual practice where people say a table moves during a meeting with spirits

noun

Archaic

: mesa giratoria

She attended a seance where table turning was demonstrated as evidence of spiritual communication.

Examples

During the nineteenth century, table turning became a popular activity at seances.
Skeptics often sought to expose fraudulent table turning by monitoring participants' movements.
Have you ever experienced table turning during a seance?
The group gathered for a table turning session last night.
In the dim light of the room, the participants engaged in table turning, hoping to communicate with the spirits.
During a mysterious table turning session, the table unexpectedly began to move on its own, startling everyone present.
The medium explained the process of table turning before the seance began, emphasizing the importance of group energy.

Synonyms

table tipping

vstable turning

Archaic

9.9

A table moving during a séance that people say is caused by spirits

is broader including rotation or general movement rather than manipulation

table tilting

vstable turning

Archaic

9.9

A practice where a table moves during a meeting to contact spirits

focuses on rotation or fuller movement rather than simple leaning

Surface Forms

table turning singular

table turnings plural

Morphology

table + turn

The compound is partly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'table' and 'turn' can infer a literal action of a table being rotated. However, the conventionalized meaning—specifically a spiritualistic seance practice attributed to spirits—is cultural and not predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Table turning comes from seances long ago, when people sat around a table that seemed to start turning or moving by itself, as if pushed by 'spirits'. So the term now means the practice of a table moving during a 'seance'.