Etymology Tabula rasa is a Latin phrase often translated as "clean slate" in English and originates from the Roman tábua used for notes, which was blanked  by heating the wax and then smoothing it. This roughly equates to the English term "blank slate" (or, more literally, "erased slate") which refers to the emptiness of a slate prior to it being written on with chalk. Both may be renewed repeatedly, by melting the wax of the tablet or by erasing the chalk on the slate.
Etymology Tabula rasa is a Latin phrase often translated as "clean slate" in English and originates from the Roman tabula, a wax-covered tablet used for notes, which was blanked (rasa) by heating the wax and then smoothing it. This roughly equates to the English term "blank slate" (or, more literally, "erased slate") which refers to the emptiness of a slate prior to it being written on with chalk. Both may be renewed repeatedly, by melting the wax of the tablet or by erasing the chalk on the slate.
R
tábua
tabula, a wax-covered tablet
A
(rasa)