Drop-leaf table
type of folding furniture
A drop-leaf table is a table that has a fixed section in the center and a hinged section (leaf) on either side that can be folded down (dropped). If the leaf is supported by a bracket when folded up, the table is simply a drop-leaf table; if the leaf is supported by legs that swing out from the center, it is known as a gateleg table. Depending on the style of drop-leaf or gateleg tables, the leaves vary from coming almost down to the floor to only coming down slightly.
The usual purpose of a drop-leaf table is to save space when the table is not in use. Typical examples of drop-leaf tables are: dining tables, night stands, side tables, coffee tables, and desks.
Drop-leaf tables were found mostly in England where they date back to the late sixteenth century; Elizabethan era and Jacobean era examples are still extant.
The public source identifies “Drop-leaf table” as type of folding furniture. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Drop-leaf, table and type.
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This entry incorporates text from “Drop-leaf table” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.