Re: [latina] Desktop = Mensa

["Garcia, Rafael" <garcia WPI EDU>]

> The entry for tabula is:
> tabula, tabulae  N (1st) F   [XXXAO]
> writing tablet (wax covered board);  records (pl.); document, deed, will; list;
> plank/board, flat piece of wood; door panel; counting/playing/notice board;
> picture, painting; wood panel for painting; metal/stone tablet/panel w/text;

|For 'panel' it lists 'tympanum' (panel of a door), 'tabula', 'lacunar'.

Based on the entries in Words and Lewis and Short, 'Tympanum' means 
drum (i.e. musical drum ) and only has the specific secondary meaning of door panel in 
an architectural context. Likewise 'lacunar' means panelled ceiling, or a particular panel
in a vaulted ceiling. So I think the writer of the dictionary was thinking of architectural
panel when he recommended tympanum for panel.

'Tabula' strictly speaking means a board or plank. It is also used as frequently in the sense
of tablet (i.e. writing tablet). Its other uses also include panel, book panel, picture, 
and counter top. Thus 'tabula' seems to capture the widest and most diverse senses of panel.