mattress
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈmætɹɪs/[1]
Etymology
It comes from Middle English materas,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French materas,[2][3][4] from Italian materasso[2][3][4] and Medieval Latin matracium,[2][3][4] both from Arabic مطرح (maṭraḥ, “place where something is thrown; mat, cushion”),[2][3][4][5] from ṭaraḥa “to throw”.[2][3][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
A case of canvas or other strong fabric stuffed with soft material, used as a bed (about 1290; about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline).[6][3][4]
Semantic evolution
Arabs slept on cushions thrown on the floor, and Europeans adopted this kind of bed during the Crusades.[2] The Arabic word was borrowed into Medieval Latin in Sicily[4] and spread to Italian and French.[2][4] The modern spelling is found by the early 15th century.[4] Later the word was applied to engineering mats of brushwood used to protect dikes and banks (1875).[6][2]
Timeline
- c1290 – a bed of stuffed fabric.[6]
- 1388 – materace.[3]
- early 15th century – the modern spelling.[4]
- 1644 – a protective mat (obsolete).[6]
- 1875 – an engineering mat of brushwood.[6]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A pad of heavy cloth filled with soft material or springs, used as or on a bed.
- An inflatable airtight pad used as a bed.
- A woven mat of brush and poles used to protect an embankment or dike from erosion.
Word family
- air mattress
Related words
- mat
- futon
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press