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drawing table

drawing table

1 3.6
A table with a surface that can be tilted for drawing
  • noun
  • /ˈdrɔɪŋ ˈteɪbəl/
translation icon : mesa de dibujo
  • The artist adjusted the angle of his drawing table to get a better view of his work.
  • easels and drawing table
  • drawing table in my office
  • large drawing table

Examples

  • Now the man attempts, unwisely, to cross the short distance from his drawing table to a desk.

    Blog text (25)
  • Holden looks up from his drawing table, shocked.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The hours she had spent buying equipment and setting up the drawing table had disconcerted her.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Holden goes to his drawing table and takes off his coat.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • What a pity she lives so far away in New York, he thought, tapping his pencil on the drawing table.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • "She got up and went to her drawing table, found a piece of light card that was just the right size, and began to sketch and write something on it, muttering to herself.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • When she finished an hour later, having swept slowly and carefully, he glanced up from his drawing table and looked at her over his bifocals.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • When he bent over his drawing table, Deborah could almost see the dotted lines and small print labeling the regions of his brain.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • He sauntered across the room, a lean, cool study in denim and leather, and planted himself in front of my drawing table.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • A man with a white hard hat was seated at a drawing table, irritably flipping through a messy pile of blueprints, a look of quiet exasperation visible even on the profile of his heavily bearded face.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

drawing board
vsdrawing table
5 3.1

A smooth flat board you put paper on to make pictures or plans

is a tilting supported surface used especially for drawn work
drafting table
vsdrawing table
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A large table with an adjustable top that you use for drawing plans

is a smaller general tilting surface used beyond specialist technical design
drafting board
vsdrawing table
  • Specialized
5.1

A smooth flat board that people use for drawing building plans

is a raised surface with an adjustable angle rather than a simple flat sheet

How Adjustable

drafting table
  • Specialized
1 4.2
drawing table
1 3.6

Surface Forms

drawing table singular

Morphology

drawing + table

The meaning 'a table used for drawing' is directly and compositionally derived from 'drawing' (making pictures) modifying 'table' (a flat surface for working), so a learner who knows both words can infer the function. Noun–noun compounds like this are common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the phrase immediately comprehensible at B1.

Etymology

The compound noun drawing table comes from the simple idea of a drawing surface built into a table: its top can tilt so an artist can 'draw' more easily. So, the name means 'a table with an adjustable surface for drawing'.