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1. A vivid or graphic description:The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life.
2. A striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people:"New public figures suddenly abound in the hitherto faceless totalitarian tableaux"(John McLaughlin).
3. An interlude during a scene when all the performers on stage freeze in position and then resume action as before.
4. A tableau vivant.
[French, fromOld Frenchtablel, diminutive oftable, surface prepared for painting; see TABLE.]
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.