drop-leaf table
- noun
- /ˈdrɒpˌliːf ˈteɪbl/
:
mesa abatible
- For family gatherings, they set up the large drop-leaf table, which can be extended to accommodate more people.
Examples
-
But it was wartime, and the pay was so poor that Mother had to sell off some of our fine old furniture: the applewood safe, the drop-leaf table from the hall, Grandmother's massive walnut four-poster; the rooms in the house grew larger.
Fiction book (1993) -
The compact drop-leaf table can easily be folded down when the guests leave, saving space in the small apartment.
-
Her favorite piece of furniture is the antique drop-leaf table, which expands to provide extra dining space when needed.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A flat-topped piece of furniture with legs used for eating or working
A table with hinged leaves that fold down and are held by legs that swing out
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
drop-leaf + table
The head noun 'table' is fully transparent and the modifier 'drop-leaf' literally suggests parts that 'drop' (leaves/panels) so a learner could plausibly infer a table with fold-down sections. However, 'leaf' in the specialized furniture sense (a hinged panel) is not an everyday meaning for many B1 learners, and the precise hinged/extendable mechanism may not be obvious without prior exposure, making the expression only partly compositional.
Etymology
Drop-leaf table comes from the table's simple design: side pieces called leaves that can drop down or be lifted up. When the leaves are lifted you 'extend' the surface for more people, and when they drop the table 'folds' away to save space, so the name tells you what the table does.