retable means A table or shelf behind an altar, on which are placed images or holy objects. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
retable is pronounced /rɪˈteɪbəl/.
Why “retable” is a great word
RETABLE — [Noun] A decorative structure or shelf, often with panels, placed above and behind an altar for holding images, relics, or other sacred objects. From French retable, from Medieval Latin retrotabulum ("rear table"), from Latin retro- ("back, behind") and tabula ("board, tablet, table"). First attested in English 1815–25. Unlike a "reredos," which is an architectural screen forming the altar's backdrop, or an "altarpiece," which names the artwork itself, a retable is the physical, elevated platform made to display the sacred. It is the gilded ledge cradling a worn ivory saint, the carved wooden frame darkened by centuries of incense smoke, the modest shelf upon which a single votive candle casts its long, trembling shadow—a humble pedestal for the weight of devotion.
noun
- A table or shelf behind an altar, on which are placed images or holy objects.“Near-synonym: reredos (often synonymous)”
verb
- To table again.“Politicians are keen to retable the bill.”