by-table
nounEtymology From by- + table.
1
Scotland, Obsolete A small table intended to be placed next to the wall or in the corner of a room, often in contrast to a larger (e.g. dining) table.
- […] hee had seene a Box of most curious worke, in-layde with Ebony and Iuory, vpon a by-Table, not farre from the Couch-Bed […]1625, John Barclay, chapter 14, in Argenis, page 229:
- This year the believer quits the by-table of ordinances, word, and sacraments in the church militant, and sits down at the high table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;1738, Ebenezer Erskine, “The Annals of Redeeming Love”, in Works, volume 2, published 1798, page 450:
2 more examples
- […] this amiable heroine snatching up his sword, which lay upon a by-table, and unsheathing it instantaneously, presented the point to his breast,1753, Tobias Smollett, chapter 14, in The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom, published 1782:
- There was no one in the parlour beside her nurse, when Gatty went in, save her brother Joe, who was sitting at a by-table, busily engaged in arranging some fishing tackle.1823, James Hogg, The Three Perils of Woman, volume 1, page 8:
- Synonyms
- end table, sideboard, side table