A table to write in: a little table. Blandæ tabellæ. Iuuen. Rasis tabellis infusa cera. Ouidi. Committere verba tabellis. Ouid. To write in tables. Tabellæ. Plaut. Epistles: letters missyue. Croceæ membrana tabellæ. Iuuen. Laureatæ tabellæ. Liu. Lepidæ. Plau. Verba dedit ferenda tabellis. Ouid. Properatæ tabellæ. Ouid. Letters written in haste. Arcanas signare tabellas. Ouid. To seale setret letters. Tabellæ, in quibus iudices scribebanr. Ci. Tables wherin iudges did write.

I. In gen., a small board, a little table or tablet (rare and mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose): liminis, i. e. the door-sill, Cat. 32, 5: tabella aerea, a brass plate, Plin. 33, 1, 6, 19: hos (libellos) eme, quos artat brevibus membrana tabellis, little tablets, i. e. small pages, Mart. 1, 3, 3: parva tabella capit ternos utrimque lapillos, small gamingboards, Ov. A. A. 3, 365; id. Tr. 2. 481: pistor multiplices struit tabellas, i. e. thin cakes, Mart. 11, 31, 9.—Of the basket or cradle in which Romulus and Remus were exposed: heu quantum fati parva tabella vehit, the little bark, Ov. F. 2, 408.—

II. In partic. (class.).

A. A writing-tablet: tabellis pro chartis utebantur antiqui, quibus ultro citro, sive privatim sive publice opus erat, certiores absentes faciebant, unde adhuc tabellarii dicuntur: et tabellae missae ab imperatoribus, Fest. p. 359 Müll.: tabellae Imponere manus, Ov. P. 4, 2, 27: abiegnae, id. A. A. 3, 469: litteras tabellae insculpere, Quint. 1, 1, 27: fecit et Libyn puerum tenentem tabellam, Plin. 34, 8, 19, 59.—

2. Hence, transf., in plur., a writing, written composition, letter, contract, will, etc.: tabellas proferri jussimus ... Recitatae sunt tabellae in eandem fere sententiam, Cic. Cat. 3, 5, 10: allatae sunt tabellae ad eam a Stratippocle, eum argentum sumpsisse, Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 68: ex tabellis jam faxo scies, id. Ps. 1, 1, 47: tabellas consignare, id. Curc. 2, 3, 86: tu quidem tabellis obsignatis agis mecum, with sealed writings, Cic. Tusc. 5, 11, 33: publicae Heracleensium, public records, id. Arch. 4, 9; cf. Liv. 43, 16, 13: tabellae quaestionis plures proferuntur, minutes of evidence, Cic. Clu. 65, 184: cur totiens video mitti recipique tabellas? Ov. Am. 3, 14, 31: rasae, id. A. A. 1, 437: nuptiis tabellas dotis ipse consignavit, the marriage contract, Suet. Claud. 29: falsas signare tabellas, forged wills, Juv. 8, 142: laureatae, a letter announcing a victory, Liv. 45, 1, 8.—Sing. (rare): testimonium per tabellam dare, in writing, Tac. Or. 36: ex tabellā pronuntiare sententiam, Suet. Claud. 15.—

B. A tablet for voting, a ballot.

1. In the comitia, used in electing a magistrate or deciding upon the acceptance of a proposed law: in the former case the elector wrote down the name of a candidate; in the latter, each voter received two tablets, on one of which were the letters U. R., i. e. uti rogas, denoting approval; on the other, A., i. e. antiquo (for the old law), denoting rejection: me universa civitas non prius tabellā quam voce priorem consulem declaravit, Cic. Pis. 1, 3: an ego exspectem, dum de te quinque et septuaginta tabellae dirimantur? id. ib. 40, 96: tabella modo detur nobis, sicut populo data est, id. Phil. 11, 8, 19; cf.: si populo grata est tabella, quae frontis aperit hominum, id. Planc. 6, 16. —

2. In courts of justice; here each judge usually received three tablets; one of which, inscribed A., i. e. absolvo, denoted acquittal; another, with C., i. e. condemno, written on it, denoted condemnation; and the third, with N. L., i. e. non liquet (it is not clear), left the case undecided: cum tabella vobis dabitur, judices, non de Flacco dabitur solum: dabitur de bonis omnibus, Cic. Fl. 39, 99: huic judicialis tabella committetur? id. Verr. 2, 2, 32, 79: de quibusdam etiam imperitus judex dimittere tabellam potest, give his vote, Sen. Ben. 3, 7, 5: quamlibet austeras de me ferat urna tabellas, Prop. 4 (5), 11, 49; Caes. B. C. 3, 83; cf. Suet. Aug. 33. —

C. A painted tablet, a small picture or painting: ea (exhedria) volebam tabellis ornare, Cic. Fam. 7, 23, 3: priscis sparsa tabellis Porticus, Ov. A. A. 1, 71: inveniat plures nulla tabella modos, id. ib. 2, 680: comicae tabellae, Plin. 35, 10, 37, 114; cf.: cubicula tabellis adornavit, Suet. Tib. 43: Tyrrhena sigilla, tabellas, Sunt qui non habeant, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 180: Pausiaca, id. S. 2, 7, 95.—

D. A votive tablet, hung up in a temple, and on which one acknowledged by writing or painting the favor or aid he had received from a deity: nunc, dea, nunc succurre mihi, nam posse mederi, Picta docet templis multa tabella tuis, Tib. 1, 3, 28: et posita est meritae multa tabella deae, Ov. F. 3, 268: votiva, Hor. S. 2, 1, 33; so Juv. 12, 27: memores, Ov. M. 8, 744. —

E. A fan: quos (ventos) faciet nostrā mota tabella manu, Ov. Am. 3, 2, 38.