by-table

plural by-tables

1. ScotlandobsoleteA small table intended to be placed next to the wall or in the corner of a room, often in contrast to a larger (e.g. dining) table.First known use 17ᵗʰ to early 19ᵗʰ century.

   […] hee had seene a Box of most curious worke, in-layde with Ebony and Iuory, vpon a by-Table, not farre from the Couch-Bed […]

   1625, John Barclay, chapter 14, in Argenis, page 229

   3 more examples

   This year the believer quits the by-table of ordinances, word, and sacraments in the church militant, and sits down at the high table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;

   1738, Ebenezer Erskine, “The Annals of Redeeming Love”, in Works, volume 2, published 1798, page 450

   […] this amiable heroine snatching up his sword, which lay upon a by-table, and unsheathing it instantaneously, presented the point to his breast,

   1753, Tobias Smollett, chapter 14, in The Adventures of Ferdinand, Count Fathom, published 1782

   There was no one in the parlour beside her nurse, when Gatty went in, save her brother Joe, who was sitting at a by-table, busily engaged in arranging some fishing tackle.

   1823, James Hogg, The Three Perils of Woman, volume 1, page 8

   Synonyms: end table, sideboard, side table