tabulate

Origin

Back-formation from translingual Tabulata (“an extinct order of corals”) on the basis of -ate (adjective-forming suffix, corresponding to Latin -ātus (forming participles), itself seen in Tabulata), from Latin tabulāta, the nominative neuter plural of tabulātus (“floored”). See further at etymology 1. The order is so named because the corals are characterized by their well-developed horizontal internal partitions (tabulae). Equivalent to tabula + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).