mattress English · revision 1955

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmætɹɪs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''materas'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|materas]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|it|materasso]]^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and [[la-med|matracium]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) both [[der|ar|مطرح|tr=maṭraḥ|t=place where something is thrown; mat, cushion]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''ṭaraḥa'' “to throw”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Arabs slept on cushions thrown on the floor, and Europeans adopted this kind of bed during the Crusades.^(AHD) The Arabic word was borrowed into Medieval Latin in Sicily^(Etymonline) and spread to Italian and French.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) The modern spelling is found by the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) Later the word was applied to engineering mats of brushwood used to protect dikes and banks (1875).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c1290 – a bed of stuffed fabric.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1388 – ''materace''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * early 15th century – the modern spelling.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1644 – a protective mat (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1875 – an engineering mat of brushwood.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A pad of heavy cloth filled with soft material or springs, used as or on a bed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An inflatable airtight pad used as a bed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A woven mat of brush and poles used to protect an embankment or dike from erosion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[air mattress]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mat]]

+ * [[futon]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}