n. [ Cf. F. tablature ancient mode of musical notation. See Table. ] 1. (Paint.) A painting on a wall or ceiling; a single piece comprehended in one view, and formed according to one design; hence, a picture in general. Shaftesbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) An ancient mode of indicating musical sounds by letters and other signs instead of by notes. [ 1913 Webster ]

The chimes of bells are so rarely managed that I went up to that of Sir Nicholas, where I found who played all sorts of compositions from the tablature before him as if he had fingered an organ. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Anat.) Division into plates or tables with intervening spaces; as, the tablature of the cranial bones. [ 1913 Webster ]