Couch

Couch
Comfortable seating
Portuguese rosewood caned settee (canape), 19th century (Camilo Castelo Branco House, Famalicão)

A couch, also called a sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person, and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge. They consist of a wooden or metal structure supplemented by padding and are covered in a variety of textiles, leather, or sometimes a combination of both. They will also be found in hotels and parts of commercial offices, waiting rooms, furniture stores, etc.

The term 'couch' is used in North America, Australia (most commonly known as a lounge) and New Zealand. Other terms synonymous with the above definition of couch are sofa (derived from the Arabic word suffah), settee, chesterfield, divan, and canapé.

Contents

Types

The most common types of couches are the "loveseat",[citation needed] or British two-seater, and the settee or sofa, with two or more seats.[1] A sectional sofa, often just referred to as a "sectional", is formed from multiple sections (typically two to four) and usually includes at least two pieces that join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater, used to wrap around walls or other furniture. A sectional sofa is known as a corner sofa in the UK.[citation needed]

Other couch variants include the divan, the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise longue (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally considered a type of footstool). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in the form of sofa-beds, daybeds, or futons. There are also couches known by genericized trademarked names, such as a davenport or Chesterfield (named for one of the Earls of Chesterfield).[citation needed]

In the United Kingdom a Chesterfield is a deep buttoned sofa, with arms and back of the same height. It is usually made from leather and the term Chesterfield in British English is only applied to this type of sofa.

The term "chesterfield" is a Canadian term equivalent to couch or sofa. The use of the term has been found to be widespread among older Canadians. This term is quickly vanishing from Canadian English according to one survey done in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario in 1992.[2] Northern California is the only place besides Canada where "chesterfield" is a synonym for couch or sofa;[3] again, this probably applies nowadays to older Northern Californians. In the United Kingdom, the word refers to a particular style of sofa featuring a low rolled back and deep buttoning.

The term "three-piece suite" is used to describe a furniture set consisting of a two or three-seater couch and two armchairs. Other less specific terms for sets with at least one sofa include "chesterfield suite", "lounge suite", "living-room suite" and "sofa suite".[citation needed]

Gallery

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Interview with Immodesty Blaize". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guM3wHItckE&NR=1. Retrieved 10 September 2010. 
  2. ^ Chambers, J. K. "The Canada-U.S. border as a vanishing isogloss: the evidence of chesterfield." Journal of English Linguistics; 23 (1995): 156–66, excerpt at chass.utoronto.ca
  3. ^ Fadiman, Clifton Any Number Can Play 1957

References

  • John Gloag, A Short Dictionary of Furniture rev. ed. 1962. (London: Allen & Unwin)

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Couch — (vom englischen couch für „Sofa“, „Liege“ oder „Lager“) bezeichnet: ein Sitzmöbel, siehe Sofa Couch (Band), Münchener Instrumental Band Couch (Film), Underground Experimentalfilm von Andy Warhol Couch ist der Name folgender Personen: Liz Couch (* …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Couch — (kouch), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Couched} (koucht); p. pr. & vb. n. {Couching}.] [F. coucher to lay down, lie down, OF. colchier, fr. L. collocare to lay, put, place; col + locare to place, fr. locus place. See {Locus}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To lay… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Couch — Couch, v. i. 1. To lie down or recline, as on a bed or other place of rest; to repose; to lie. [1913 Webster] Where souls do couch on flowers, we ll hand in hand. Shak. [1913 Webster] If I court moe women, you ll couch with moe men. Shak. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Couch — Couch, n. [F. couche, OF. colche, culche, fr. colchier. See {Couch}, v. t. ] 1. A bed or place for repose or sleep; particularly, in the United States, a lounge. [1913 Webster] Gentle sleep . . . why liest thou with the vile In loathsome beds,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Couch — Sf Sofa std. reg. (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus ne. Couch, dieses aus afrz. couche Lager , einer Ableitung von afrz. coucher niederlegen , aus l. collocāre aufstellen, legen, setzen , aus l. locāre stellen, legen und l. con . Neuerdings… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • couch — couch·an·cy; couch·ant; couch·er; couch; …   English syllables

  • couch — meaning ‘an upholstered piece of furniture’ differs from a sofa in having only one raised end and in being designed for lying on as well as sitting on. It also has special (and often evocative) uses as in psychiatrist s couch, on which the… …   Modern English usage

  • couch — [kouch] n. [ME & OFr couche, a bed, lair: see COUCH the vt.] 1. an article of furniture on which one may sit or lie down; sofa; divan 2. any resting place 3. Old Poet. a place for sleeping; bed 4. Obs. an animal s lair or den 5. Brewi …   English World dictionary

  • Couch'e — Cou ch[ e] (k?? sh? ), a. [F., p. p. of coucher. See {Couch}, v. t. ] (Her.) (a) Not erect; inclined; said of anything that is usually erect, as an escutcheon. (b) Lying on its side; thus, a chevron couch[ e] is one which emerges from one side of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • couch — kau̇ch vt to treat (a cataract or a person who has a cataract) by displacing the lens of the eye into the vitreous body couch n an article of furniture used (as by a patient undergoing psychoanalysis) for sitting or reclining on the couch… …   Medical dictionary

  • couch|y — «KOW chee», adjective. 1. full of or infested with couch grass. 2. of the nature of or resembling couch grass …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”