tableau

Meaning

Noun

• A striking and vivid representation; a picture.
• A vivid graphic scene of a group of people arranged as in a painting or bas relief sculpture.
• Hence, an arrangement of actors in static positions on stage, having the effect of pointing up a particular moment in the drama, conventionally revealed by opening tableau curtains (known as "tabs").
• A table .
• A table that shows constraint violations of a list of candidates given an input and a constraint ranking.
• Mostly in solitaire card games, but also in other card and board games, the main area, where random cards can be arranged.
• A semantic tableau.

Origin

• From French tableau, from Old French tablel ("a surface which is used primarily for painting").