at table

See also: attable and attablé

English

Prepositional phrase

at table

1. Eating a meal at a table, especially with others.

   sitting at table with a servant

   • 1876, Lady Barker, The Kafir at Home, printed in The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, volume 23 (87?), page 221 [1]:

     […] but anything would have been better than sitting at table with a thing only fit for a May-day sweep on one's head.

   • 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 92:

     But she managed not to cry for she knew that would not do at table.

2. Preparing and serving the table for a meal, usually formal.
   • 1922, C. Herman Senn, M.B.E., F.R.H.S., editor, The Art of the Table; including How to Wait at Table, How to Fold Napkins, and How to Carve‎^[2]:

Anagrams

• abattle, abettal