mensa
mensa, a table
BWL
a lamp set on the table
Frieze-Dennison Vergil
- I Lit. Of the table itself as a fabrid: non ferre mensam nisi crebris distinctam venis, Sen. De Ira 3, 35, 5: mensa inanis nunc si adponatur mihi, Plaut. Pers. 3, 1, 26 (354): cibos in mensam alicui apponere, id. Men. 1, 3, 29 (210): surgunt a mensā saturi, poti, id. Ps. 1, 3, 62 (291): ad mensam consistere. to wait at table, Cic. Tusc. 5, 21, 61: auferre mensam, Plaut. Truc. 2, 4, 14 (365): apud mensam, at table, id. Trin. 2, 4, 77 (478); Gell. 2, 22, 1; 19, 7, 2: arae vicem praestare posse mensam dicatam, Macr. S. 3, 11, 5.—
- II Transf.
- A Food; a table, meal, course: quocum mensam sermonesque suos impertit, Enn. ap. Gell. 12, 4 (Ann. v. 240 Vahl.): communicabo te semper mensā meā, Plaut. Mil. 1, 1, 51 (51): ita mensas exstruit, id. Men. 1, 1, 25 (101): parciore mensā uti, Tac. A. 13, 16: Italicae Syracusiaeque mensae, Cic. Tusc. 5, 35, 100: cui Quintus de mensa misit, id. Att. 5, 1, 4; so, parāsti mensam adversus eos qui tribulant me, Vulg. Psa. 23, 5: una mensa, at a single meal, Juv. 1, 138: prior, proxima mensa, the first, the second rank at table; the first or second in esteem: Raeticis uvis prior mensa erat, Plin. 14, 1, 3, § 16; id. 9, 17, 29, § 63: secunda mensa, the second course, the dessert (at which much wine was used), Cels 1, 2: haec ad te scripsi, appositā secundā mensā, during the dessert, Cic. Att. 14, 6, 2; 14, 21, 4: Agesilaus coronas secundamque mensam servis dispertiit, Nep Ages. 8, 4: secunda mensa bono stomacho nihil nocet, Cels. 1, 2, fin.: mensae tempore, meal-time, Juv. 13, 211.—
- B The guests at table: cum primum istorum conduxit mensa choragum, Suet. Aug. 70.—
- C A money-changer's counter: decem minas dum hic solvit, omnis mensas transiit, Plaut. Curc. 5, 3, 4 (682): mensam poni jubet atque Effundi saccos nummorum, Hor. S. 2, 3, 148: nummulariorum, Vulg. Matt. 21, 12: publica, a public bank, Cic. Fl. 19, 44; id. Pis. 36, 88.—
- D A butcher's table: mensa lanionia, butcher's stall, shambles, Suet. Claud. 15.—
- E Mensa lusoria, a gaming-table (late Lat.), Aug. Conf. 8, 6.—
- F A sacrificial table: Curiales mensae, in quibus immolabatur Junoni, quae Curis est appellata, Paul. ex Fest. s. v. Curiales, p. 64 Müll.: mensae deorum, Verg. A. 2, 764: Jovis mensa, Plin. 25, 9, 59, § 105: a small altar: super tumulum statuere, Cic. Leg. 2, 26, 66.—
- G The long flat part, the table, of a military engine (e. g. of a catapult), Vitr. 10, 16.—
- H A stand or platform on which slaves were exposed for sale: servus de mensā paratus, Ap. Met. 8, 26, 18; id. Mag. 17, p. 285, 15.
quae circumierat totius ~ae labium
beatus pater Augustinus hos in sua ~a versiculos fecit describi
~a,beod
~e iiij, quarum tres sunt de sapo et j de fraccino
hec ~a,a tabylle
a dressure , ~a structoria
in aula ij ~e mobiles et ij immobiles
ij ~e cum trestillis, una ~a stacionaria
de ‥ quatuor ~is conjunctis Anglicefower joyned tables , una parva ~a applectata, Angliceon litle folding table , quatuor veteribus ~is, duabus ~is rotundis, una ~a quadrata dewaynskott
tripodia, ~a Apollonis
quid Jeronimus ‥ dicat ~am Solis a philosopho Apollonis litteras persequente visam in sabulo [cf. V. Maximus ]Facta et Dicta Memorabilia IV 1. 7 p. 173
anclabris, -is, i. ~a in divinis officiis aptata, cujus vasa etiam anclabria nuncupamus
~a solis est hic [in epistola Hieronymi ] plaga meridiana in qua currit sol. hanc enim vocabant philosophi ~am solis quia semper est ad meridiem
cum celebrarentur sacrae libamina mensae
ponatur tabula desuper, id est ~a altaris
quod vera Christi caro verusque ejus sanguis in ~a Dominica immoletur, comedatur, bibatur
scis autem quod diaconatui annexa sunt ~e ministerium et annuntiatio Verbi Dei
ara vel altare Domini vel mensa vocatur
arca Dei, ~a proposicionis, vestes quas fecit Moyses ‥ et alia multa
lucebat area purpurata ‥ ut libatoria tabula, ut propositionis ~a
si apud se in loco nostro communi Oxonii ~am proposicionis paratam inveniunt, nec semper aliene doctrine suffragia exterius mendicare cogantur
trapezita, qui in ~a nummorum per mutationes victum querit
quare et asser in quo hec, idest calculatoria ars depingitur, ab antiquis ~a Pytagorica, a modernis autem vel abax vel abacus nuncupatur
Pytagorici ‥ ~am Pithagoream ob magistri sui reverentiam, sed posteri tamen abacum dixerunt
~am †jocundam [v. l. rotundam ] instituit apud Cornubiam in insula †Jatata [v. l. Fatata ]
corporale prestitit juramentum quod ipse ‥ ~am rotundam inciperet eodem modo quo eam dimisit dominus Arthurus
constituerunt ‥ ut ‥ in illo ludo militari, qui ~a rotunda dicitur, vires suas attemptarent
simili artificio orbicularis ~ae equitibus (si qui essent) Saxonicisque nostris principibus arma ementiti sunt
~a manus
qui secum ad ~am sedent, non solum amantes, sed et munerantes
nec ad ~am ciborum fercula pro caritatis gratia pariter percipere dignentur
~am statim adposuit praeparato cibo desuper quem habebat
sedentibus jam ad ~am fratribus
die sancti Pasche ad ~am apud Westmonasterium assederat, diademate fastigatus
glissera, ~a cibatoria, que et assidela, et cilliba dicitur
~a canonica ibi a Baldewino episcopo Thuronensi statuitur
prior semper duplum nisi cum abbate comederit, nihilominus qui ad superiorem ~am ut custos ordinis sederit duplum
ne defectus vini alicubi fuerit ‥ et precipue in majori ~a
quod ‥ sedem pro alta ~a aule infra castrum nostrum Notingh’ moveri et eam ‥ exaltari faceret
ne de victu sint totaliter destituti, sed ut de aliquo certo, licet non ad competentis ~e equivalenciam, sint securi
quatuor ollas ‥ ad usus prioris et conventus in ~a magistrorum
comedit namque epulas ~ae vitalis sed non satiatur
ut omne bonum ‥ fratres sibi ‥ ad ~am suam et ad alteram necessitatem faciant
decimam omnium piscium et ciborum ~e ipsius comitis
me in propria ~a gaudebat habere convivam
a domo et ~a vestra nuper egrediens magister P. mihi via publica incedenti, letus, et longe letior quam expediret, occurrit
dictis ‥ hominibus promisimus et promittimus quod eos nunquam a ~a regia separabimus
in spirituali ~a idem cibus qui et potus est
ut tam bene condita quam insipida fastidientes ad ~am philosophie lautis refertam ferculis siccis dentibus emarcescant
vespera cotidie ‥ post ~am celebretur
transigebat cum eo tam seria quam joca, individuusque comes et ~e et cubiculi erat
debes eum vitare in tribus, sc. in oratione, in ~a, in salutatione
die sabbati post missam et ~am
post prandium insuper illorum qui in secunda ~a comedunt, claudatur ostium refectorii
prepositus ‥ habebit ‥ ~am suam a Gula Augusti usque festum Sancti Michaelis
item pro salario unius scriptoris preter ~am suam(
in stipend’ cujusdam vitrarii auxiliantis Joh’ vitrarium per j septimanam ad ~am domini
in conduccione dictorum duorum per unam septimanam ‥ per certam convencionem ad ~am x d.
in solucione facta de mandato regis pro ~a cujusdam pauperis scolaris existentis ad scolas in villa de Haddington
solutis pro ~a plumbarii operantis circa effusionem plumbi pro opere predicto ‥ vij s. iv d.
~am episcopalem quingentis libris ‥ augmentavi
cepit ei ostendere ~e episcopalis in hoc facto, si processerit, lesionem non modicam et reddituum mutilationem
bona ~e capitularis ecclesie ‥ administrasset(v.
terram iij manentium ‥ ad ~am illius congregationis ‥ donavimus
hoc est de feudo comitis R. et erat †inensa [(l. mensa ] ejusdem manerii
nemo ulterius valeat dubitare de Bramcestre et de suis appendiciis, cum omnibus consuetudinibus quas ipse rex Anglie si esset de ~a sua posset ibi habere, quin sint S. Benedicti de Ramesia
quinque portiunculas Medie ‥ ~e regali appropriavit
ut Alverniam ‥ ~e regali reintegraret
quarta parte illius ecclesie que ad ~am episcopalem dignoscitur pertinere
villam predictam ~e comitatus nostri ‥ perpetuo duximus uniendam
dicta bastida ‥ semper remaneat in et de ~a predicti domini nostri regis et ducis
- 1. tafel: (a) eettafel; ➤ cibos in -am apponere; -as cibis onerare; -am tollere, auferre, (re)movere de maaltijd beëindigen; (b) offertafel, altaar [deorum]; (c) toonbank v.e. visverkoper (Hor.) of v.e. slager (Suet.); (d) wisselbank [publica staatsbank];
- 2. (meton.) (a) maaltijd; (b) gerecht, gang, eten (ook plur.) [divites; secunda nagerecht; Italicae bras-, vreetpartijen]; ➤ apud, super -am aan tafel, tijdens het eten; parciore -ā uti soberder eten; (c) (poët.) disgenoten.
桌。飯桌。食。碟桌。舖。臺。砲什件。 Secunda mensa 收殘席另擺。洗盞更酌。果品。Communicare eum mensa sua 准人同席。Mensam sternere 鋪桌。擺席。
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Table de pierre. Miracula S. Columbani cap. 9 :
Jussit supradicto magistro, ut ad sacratissimum corpus cum magna reverentia accederet, Mensamque sublevaret.Marmor repertum ann. 1223. in Area SS. Martyrum Faustini et Jovitæ, Brixiæ in Italia, apud Ascanium Martinengum in horum SS. Vitis :
Faustino et Jovitæ Martyribus Victor Maurus ex voto posuit Mensam civibus suis.In Inscriptionibus sepulcralibus non semel occurrunt hæc verba,
Mensam contra votum posuit, 850. 6. 1049. 9. Observat porro Scaliger ad Festum
mensasin sepulcris positas, quod ad ea res divinæ fierent sacro parentali.
non,Exstant aliquot Sermones ejusdem S. Augustini ad hanc mensam habiti. Vide Enarrat. in Psalm. 38. et 80. et Serm. 137. de Tempore, præterea S. Fulgentium homil. 56.inquit quia ibi est unquam Cyprianus epulatus, sed quia ibi est immolatus.S. Augustin. Serm. 113. de Diversis, cap. 2.
mensanuncupatur ab Apost. 1. ad Corinth. 20.
Non potestis,Ubi mensa Domini est ipsa Eucharistia, cui nomen istud inditum a loco, in quo a Christo instituta fuit : quam itidem exemplo Pauli sic sæpe Patres nominant, tum Græci maxime, apud quos frequens est usurpatio hujus appellationis cum diversis quæ adjungunt epithetis :inquit, Mensæ Domini participes esse, et mensæ dæmoniorum.
terribilemappellari, ut quæ nobis repræsentet
Altare sanctum, in quo Deo omnipotenti sacrificiorum vota persolvimus, lapis est naturaliter communis,... quia vero sacratum est Dei adjutorio, et benedictionem suscepit, Mensa sancta efficitur.Paulin. Nat. 9 :
In Capitul. Caroli M. ann. 769. cap. 14. vetantur Sacerdotes Missas celebrare, nisiNamque et Apostolici cineres sub cælite Mensa Depositi, etc.
in Mensis lapideis ab Episc. consecratis. Vide Descriptionem nostram Ædis Sophianæ n. 53.
De Fortunato autem fraternitatem vestram esse sollicitam volumus, ne vobis a malis hominibus in aliquo subripiatur. Nam audio eumGregor. Turon. de Vitis Patrum cap. 9 :cum decessore vestro ad Mensam Ecclesiæ per annos plurimos nunc usque comedisse, inter nobiles consedisse, etc.
Ut nec ad convivium Mensæ Canonicæ cum reliquis accederet Clericis.Idem lib. 10. Hist. cap. 31. de Baudino Episc. Turon. :
Hic instituit Mensam Canonicorum,id est, ut in commune vescerentur. Hinc
mensam instruendam, id est, ad vescendum, seu ad vitæ commoda necessarium est, aut conducit ; nostris vulgo
Dominicum est proprie terra ad Mensam assignata.Cyprianus in Vita S. Cæsarii Arelat. :
Donec omnes ab ipso essent redempti eo argento, quod venerabilis Eonius antecessor ejus Ecclesiæ Mensæ reliquerat.Charta ann. 850. apud Meurissium in Histor. Episc. Metens. pag. 137 :
Ut nullus prædictam villam tollat, alienet, abstrahat... ab altare B. Arnulphi, et Mensa Fratrum Monachorum.Alia Steph. Episc. Metensis apud eumdem pag. 415 :
Nemo autem nos de mensa nostra quicquam recidere, aut ab Ecclesia Metensi aliquid alienare concessione tali arbitretur.Adam Bremensis cap. 103 :
Claustrum renovavit, et Canonicis Mensam ipse primus instituit. Prius enim cum præbenda fere tenuis videretur, adjectis ex sua parte quibusdam decimis, ita ordinavit, ut albus detur Fratribus panis ultra solitam annonam cotidie.In Epistola Joannis II. Archiep. Lugd. ad Glascuensem Episc. :
In civitate Beneventana, quæ proprie ad Mensam Apostolicam pertinet, rectorem Dominus Papa ordinat.Tabularium Ecclesiæ Augustod. ann. 922 :
Villam Ecclesiæ S. Nazarii destinamus, obsecrantes ut nullus Episcopus aut Comes a mensa eorumdem Canonicorum subtrahere præsumat.
Leprosariæ Morin. 8. sol. Mensæ S. Spiritus 7. sol. pro familia sigilliferi 5. sol.
Mensa Episcopatus, in Gestis Innocentii III. PP. pag. 103.
Mensa Episcopalis
Mensa Episcopi, apud Baldricum in Chron. Camer, lib. 3. cap. 49.
Mensa Monachorum, in Invent. Reliq. S. Bertini sæc. 3. Bened. part. 1. pag. 160. et in Vita S. Hildulphi Episc. Trevir. ibid. part. 2. pag. 479. 480. eadem quæ
Conventualisdicitur in Hist. Mediani Monast. pag. 410.
Mensa Patriarchalis, in Ep. Clementis VI. PP. ann. 1342. apud Waddingum.
Mensa regalis, apud Silvestrum Giraldum in Topogr. Hibern. dist. 3. cap. 5 :
Totam Mediam Mensæ regali appropriavit.Monasticum Anglicanum tom. 2. pag. 846 :
Abstulit ei etiam Rex..... Ecclesiam de Simondburne, quam appropriavit Mensæ suæ.Hinc in Consuetudinibus municipalibus dominus feudalis dicitur prædia vasalli sui unire suæ mensæ,
Unir à sa table, in Turonensi art. 279. etc. Vide Stephan. Tornacensem Episc. 77. 227. 229. Gesta Abbatum Lobiens. pag. 559. tom. 6. Spicilegii Acheriani, Bovonem Sithiensem Abbatem de Invent. S. Bertini cap. 6. Privilegia Ecclesiæ Hammaburgensis pag. 178. 190. Perardum in Burgundicis pag. 47. 52. Buzelinum in Gallo Flandr. pag. 331. Probat. Hist. Guinensis pag. 43. Bosquetum ad Innoc. III. pag. 141. etc. Ita
Tabulausurpatur in Tabulario Abbat. Conchensis in Ruthenis Ch. 56 :
Et si, quod absit, advenerit aliquis Abbas aut Monachus, qui hunchonorem vellet auferre de Tabula sanctæ Fidis, etc.
De Mensa seu patrimonio proprio domini mei regis, in Lit. ann. 1368. tom. 5. Ordinat. reg. Franc. pag. 287. art. 9. Hinc
Recognovit se vendidisse venditione legitima Mensæ Dei de Compendio decem solidos Parisienses annui census, etc.
Commensales, domestici. Tabular. Fiscanense ann. 1103. f. 58 :
Et homines qui sunt de Mensa ejus, capient lepores in warenna Abbatis.Libertates Villæ de S. Palad. in Biturigib. ann. 1279 :
Præpositus noster adversus aliquem supradictorum hominum per hominem de Mensa et de cibo suo nihil poterit probare nec disrationare.Adde Thomasser. in Consuet. Bituric. pag. 64. 68.
Mensal, eodem intellectu, in Charta ann. 1571 :
Le vicaire de S. Jacques.... .. comme estant Mansal dudit seigneur abbé, etc.
Tenir table. Anastas. in Stephano IV. PP. :
Tribuensque denuo, ut mos est, pacem, ascendit sursum, et Mensam, ut assolent Pontifices, tenuit, sedentes cum eo aliquanti ex primatibus Ecclesiæ et optimatibus Ecclesiæ.Guill. Bibl. in Stephano VII. :
Per omnia sacri Palatii perrexit vestiaria, quæ in tantum devastata reperit, ut de sacratis vasis, quibus Mensas tenere festis diebus Pontifices consueverunt, paucissima invenirentur.
Epitimii, species apud Clericos et Monachos, qua qui damnabatur,
Si quis Frater in levioribus culpis invenitur, a Mensæ participatione privetur.Ebo Remensis Archiepiscopus de Ministris :
Omnes negligentias omnium publice deprehensas in Capitulo omnium Fratrum judicio puniens his tribus modis, id est, aut carcere, aut separatione Mensæ, sive in omnium verberum diversitate.Adde Regulam S. Cæsarii cap. 11. et Concilium Arelatense ann. 1260. cap. 11. præterea Constitut. Ord. Præd. dist. 1. cap. 18. § 2.
Quid est devitare ? cum hujusmodi nec cibum sumere.Versus antiqui :
Si pro delictis anathema quis efficiatur, Os, orare, vale, communio, Mensa negatur.
Si tamen paterfamilias domus excommunicationis sententia fuerit innodatus, a participatione ipsius familia excusatur,ut est apud Innocentium III. in Gestis ejusdem PP. pag. 80. Vide Excommunicatio.
Si quem obstinata præsumptio ternis excessibus inobsequentem notaverit, et resipiscere detrectarit, extremum omnium locandum statuerunt, imo decreverunt, ut quilibet convictorum ossa in eum pro arbitrio suo jactaret, nec quisquam propterea temeritatis aut petulantiæ argueretur. Insuper ut illi in potu et cibo nemine communicante, solus suo catino contentus esset et poculo.
Dicta autem causa inde ad prædictam Mensam marmoream remissa extiterat.
Tabula rotunda.
super numero et ordine mensarumab Humberto III. editam, tom. 2. Hist. Dalphin. pag. 311. et seqq. Addat et quæ hac de re disseruit docte et erudite auctor ejusdem Hist. tom. 1. pag. 365.
Rex Angliæ exigebat a Tancredo rege Siciliæ.... cathedram auream ad opus ejusdem Johannæ(sororis suæ) de consuetudine reginarum terræ illius ; et ad opus sui ipsius Mensam auream de longitudine duodecim pedum et de latitudine pedis et dimidii,... et duos tripodes aureos sub mensa aurea, etc.
Clerici mercimonia publice exercentes, operatorium scilicet, sive Mensam, hypothecam vel similia pro vendendis mercibus tenentes, etc.Vide
Tabula.
Domum quam dedit Lambertus de Mosa, et duas Mensas forenses, et hortum monti ecclesiæ vestræ adjacentem.
Mensa interior est, et media inter duas hinc inde scutulas, constatque regulis diapegmatis, et tabula inter regulas et diapegmata collocata.
- mensos, P. of metior, a table: ad mensam consistere, wait at table: Qui dapibus mensas onerent, V.: acernā, O.: carā piscīs avertere mensā, fishmonger's board, H.—A table, meal, course: Italicae mensae: lucis pars ultima mensae Est data, supper, O.: unā mensā, at a single meal, Iu.: secunda, an after-feast, i. e. thank-offering, V.: secundas nux ornabat mensas, dessert, H.: secundamque mensam servis dispertiit, N.: mensae tempore, meal-time, Iu.—A money-changer's counter: mensam poni iubet, H.: publica, a public bank.—A sacrificial table, alter: mensae deorum, V.: super tumulum mensam statuere.
-
…Quae pater ut summa vidit Saturnius arce, ingemit et, facto nondum vulgata recenti, foeda Lycaoniae referens convivia mensae, ingentes animo et dignas Iove concipit iras, conciliumque vocat tenuit mora nulla vocatos. Est via sublimis ,…
Ovid, Metamorphoses
-
…mucrone resolvit, atque ita semineces partim ferventibus artus mollit aquis, partim subiecto torruit igni. Quod simul inposuit mensis, ego vindice flamma in domino dignos everti tecta penates. Territus ipse fugit, nactusque silentia ruris exululat frustraque…
Ovid, Metamorphoses
-
…esse aequi tamen quem erat aequissimum contra Cn. Pompei liberos pugnare quem te sectorem. an ut tu Narbone mensas hospitum convomeres Dolabella pro te in Hispania dimicaret qui vero Narbone reditus etiam quaerebat cur ego ex ipso cursu tam…
Cicero, Philippicae
-
…laboravi et, quae prima innocentis mihi defensio est oblata, suscepi, sic vos severitatem iudiciorum quae per hos mensis in homines audacissimos facta sunt lenitate ac misericordia mitigate. hoc cum a vobis impetrare causa ipsa debet, tum…
Cicero, pro Sulla
-
…κατὰ τὸ φύσει τέλειον sqq. P. Gallonius, lurco famosus, deridetur a Lucilio sqq. Gamelion, mensis Atheniensium Gorgias Leontinus sqq. Gracchus v. Sempronius Gracchus Graeci passim Graecia. a Xerxe petita ab Epicuro commota…
M. Tullius Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum
-
…speramus. omnes iam nostri praeter Tullium tuum venerunt. erat mihi in animo recta proficisci ad exercitum, aestivos mensis reliquos rei militari dare, hibernos iuris dictioni. tu velim, si me nihilo minus nosti curiosum in re…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum
-
…libidines sumptuosum. toreuma nullum, maximi calices, et ei, ne contemnere suos videatur, Placentini ; exstructa mensa non conchyliis aut piscibus, sed multa carne subrancida. Servi sordidati ministrant, non nulli etiam senes ; idem…
Cicero, in Pisonem
-
…quid ante. nosti horum exercitationem in latrocinio et amentiam. Dolabella vir optimus, etsi, cum scribebam secunda mensa apposita, venisse eum ad Baias audiebam, tamen ad me ex Formiano scripsit, quas litteras cum e balineo…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum
-
…in qua sigilla erant egregia. iste continuo ut vidit, non dubitavit illud insigne penatium hospitaliumque deorum ex hospitali mensa tollere, sed tamen, quod ante de istius abstinentia dixeram, sigillis avulsis reliquum argentum sine ulla avaritia reddidit…
Cicero, in Verrem
-
…cotidie versaretur, appeteret inimicitias, in iudicium vocaret, subiret periculum capitis, ipse inspectante populo Romano tot iam mensis aut de salute aut de gloria dimicaret nihilne igitur illa vicinitas redolet, nihilne hominum fama, nihil Baiae denique…
Cicero, pro Caelio
MENSA(τράπεζα), a table. The simplest kind of table was one with three legs, round, called cilliba (Festus, s. v.; Varro, L. L. 5.118: cf. Hor. Sat. 1.3, 13; Ovid. Met. 8.662; Xen. Anab. 7.3, § 10). It is shown in the drinking-scene painted on the wall of a wine-shop at Pompeii. (Gell's Pompeiana, 1832, vol. 2. p. 11.) (See woodcut.) It often had legs carved to represent the feet of animals (see woodcut in Vol. 1. p. 395). In Homeric times, beside the seat (θρόνος) of each guest a small table was placed to receive his portion of food, which was cut up on the large dresser (ἔλεος). The table was probably then, as in later times when the same custom of small tables prevailed, lower than the seat, as is seen in the vase-painting below. (See also CENAVol. 1. p. 394.) The term τράπεζα, though commonly used in Greek for a table of any kind, must, according to its etymology, have denoted originally a four-legged table. Accordingly, in paintings on vases, the tables are usually represented with four legs, of which an example is given in the cut below. (Millin, Peintures de Vases Antiques, vol. i. pl. 59.) Horace used at Rome a dining-table of white marble, thus combining neatness with economy (Sat. 1.6, 16). For the houses of the opulent, tables were made of the most valuable and beautiful kinds of wood, especially of maple (σφενδαμνίνη, Athen. 2. p. 47 d; acerna, Hor. Sat. 2.8, 10; Mart. 14.90), or of the citrus of Africa, which was a species of cypress, the Thuja articulata of the Atlas range. (Citrea, Cic. Ver. 4.1. 7, 37; Mart. 2.43, 14.89-Z2; Plin. Nat.13. § § 91-99.) For this purpose the Romans made use of the roots and tubers of the tree, which, when cut, displayed the greatest variety of spots, beautiful waves, and curling veins. These were called tigrinae or pantherinae, according to the marks on them, or are compared to a peacock's tail (cf. lectus pavoninus, Mart. 14.85). The finest specimens of tables so adorned were sold for many thousand pounds. Pliny (l. c.) mentions such prices as a table bought by Cicero for 500,000 sesterces, by Asinius Pollio for a million (= about 8,500l.).
One of the principal improvements was the invention of the monopodium, a round table (orbis) supported by a single foot; this with other kinds of expensive and elaborate furniture was introduced into Rome from Asia Minor by Cn. Manlius after the war with Antiochus, B.C. 187 (Plin. Nat.34.14; cf. Liv. 39.6). The value of these orbes, which were sections of the trunk of the tree, depended on their size. Pliny (Plin. Nat.13.93) mentions as remarkable the table of Ptolemy, king of Mauretania, 4 1/2 feet in diameter, but of two joined pieces; that of Nomius, a freedman of Tiberius, 3 ft. 11 1/4 in.; and that of Tiberius, 4 ft. 2 in. in diameter. These orbes were often supported on ivory feet (Juven. 11.122; Mart. 2.43, 9.22-Z2). Sometimes the citrus or maple was only a veneering (Plin. Nat.33.146). Tables were also made of metal, bronze, silver (Petron. 73) or gold (Mart. 3.31; perhaps overlaid with plates of gold). From the fashion of round tables came that of arranging the lecti so as to form a continuous crescent-shaped couch called sigma, from the form c of that letter (sigma was the couch, not the table), also called stibadium and accubitum (Mart. 10.48; 14.87-Z2). (For further description of the arrangement of table and couches, see TRICLINIUM; for mensae Delphicae, see ABACUS) The tables among the Greeks, and until later times among the Romans, were not covered by cloths, which only came into use about Domitian's time [MANTELE]. They were cleansed by wet sponges (Hom. Od. i. 11, 20.151; cf. Mart. 14.144), for which purpose the Romans also used a thick cloth with a woolly nap (gausape, Hor. Sat. 2.8, 11).
Among the Greeks the small tables described above were removed bodily with their course of dishes on them (Athen. 2. p. 60 b, 5. p. 150 a), whence the phrase πρῶται, δεντεραι τράπεζαι, which answer to the Latin cena prima, &c. As the board of the Greek table is sometimes called by a distinct name, ἐπίθημα (Athen. 2. p. 49 a; Pollux, 10.81), it appears that it was sometimes separate from the tripod or other stand (κιλλίβας) on which it was set. The Roman practice, however, was to bring in the courses (fercula or missus) on trays (repositoria), which were set down on the mensa. Such phrases as mensas removere, &c. (Verg. A. 1.216, &c.) mean the conclusion of the meal; and the phrase mensae secundae means not second course, but dessert, which was regarded as a break in the entertainment, and came after the offering to the Lares, which was the Roman grace after meat. [See CENAVol. 1. p. 396 b; LRARIUM. ]
The name of τράπεζα or mensa was also given to a flat tombstone (Cic. de Leg. 2.2. 6, 66). Of mensae sacrae in the temples there were two sorts: (i.) a sort of subsidiary altar set before the image in the cella, to receive offerings of fruit, flowers, coins, &c., so that in inscriptions we find dedication of ara et mensa (C. I. L. 10.205); and (ii.) mensae anclabres, tables about the temple upon which vessels, &c., required in the sacred rites might be placed, like credence tables (Marquardt, Staatsverw. 3.165). Like the former kind were the mensae curiales, for the offerings (to Juno Curitis especially) by the Flamen curialis in each curia. (For the mercantile sense, see ARGENTARII; and, for further description of mensae and τράπεζαι, Becker-Göll, Charikles, 3. p. 81; Gallus, 2.350; Marquardt, Privatleben, p. 723; Mayor's notes on Juven. 1.137.)
[J.Y] [G.E.M](τράπεζα). (1) Originally a board or plank, and then a table, which the ancients had in all varieties and shapes. The simplest table was one with three legs and a round top (cilliba), used in wineshops. The Greek table was originally four-legged, as the name τράπεζα implies. Tables were made of white marble (Hor. Sat. i. 6, 16) and of wood, and in the houses of the rich at Rome were very costly, being regarded as heirlooms. The most valued woods were the maple (acerna) and the citrus, whose roots and tubers were used, displaying when cut a great variety of markings and curling veins. These were called tigrinae or pantherinae from their spots, and also pavoninae (Mart.xiv. 85) as suggesting the “eyes” in a peacock's tail. Enormous sums were paid for fine tables. Pliny (Pliny H. N. xiii. 91-99) speaks of Cicero as paying 500,000 sesterces ($20,000) for one, and Pollio as giving 1,000,000 sesterces ($40,000). A table with a single leg was called monopodium; orbis denotes any round table. The feet were often of ivory, beautifully carved; and the tables themselves were often overlaid with plates of gold, silver, or bronze (Petron.73; Mart.iii. 31), and were inlaid with jewels.
The table was a little lower than the couches surrounding it. Among the Greeks and later Romans it was covered by a cloth (mantele), and was cleaned by sponges or woollen cloths.
(2) Mensa prima (πρῶτη τράπεζα), the first course at dinner. In early times, the whole table was carried away at the end of each course, whence the expressions mensam ponere, auferre, tollere, removere.
(3) Mensa secunda (δεύτερα τράπεζα), the last course of a meal, i. e. the dessert. See cena.
(4) Mensa Delphĭca, an ornamental table as a part of the furniture of a house. See abacus.
(5) Mensa sacra, a table used as an altar (Verg. Aen. ii. 764).
(6) Mensa argentaria, a broker's counter.
(7) Mensa Publĭca, a bank (Cic. In Pison. 36).
(8) See catasta.
(9) A square flat gravestone laid over a grave and with a hole in the centre for sacrificial oils, etc. (Cic. De Leg. ii. 26).