sofa English · revision 39500

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1625, Purchas's Pilgrimes|origins=ar صفة}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈsəʊ̯fə/, /ˈsɵʊ̯fə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈsoʊ̯fə/, /ˈsɔʊ̯fə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|tr|sofa]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(OED 2026) partly through [[fr|sofa]],^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921) from [[ar|صُفَّة|tr=ṣuffa|t=bench, ledge, dais, couch]].^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) The OED, revising the entry in 2025, notes that in Ottoman Turkish the word meant a raised part of the floor used for sitting, and later an anteroom, a hall or a couch, and that the French word, recorded in Middle French from 1519, carried it into other European languages.^(OED 2026) Nişanyan finds the Turkish word in a text of 1377.^(Nişanyan) The AHD traces the Arabic noun to an Aramaic word for a mat,^(AHD 2024) and Skeat connected it with an Arabic root meaning "to draw up in a line".^(Skeat 1911)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the Middle East, a raised part of a floor, covered with carpets and cushions, for sitting or reclining: 1625, in Samuel Purchas's ''Pilgrimes''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline dates it to the 1620s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The European piece of furniture, a long upholstered seat with a back, is first recorded shortly before 1712 in the OED,^(OED 2026) and in 1717 according to Etymonline and Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Hoad places the first sense in the 17th century and the couch in the 18th.^(Hoad 1986) Johnson (1755), who believed it "an eastern word", still defined it as a splendid seat covered with carpets.^(Johnson 1755) Sterne used it figuratively in 1768,^(OED 2026) and ''sofa bed'', a sofa that can be used as a bed, is attested by 1794.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1377 – the word in Old Anatolian Turkish.^(Nişanyan)^(OED 2026)

+ * 1519 – Middle French ''soffa''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1625 – a raised, cushioned part of the floor (Purchas).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1712 – an upholstered seat for several people.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1717 – the same sense, in Etymonline and Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1768 – figurative use (Sterne).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1794 – ''sofa bed''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long [[upholster|alt=upholstered]] seat with a back and usually arms, for two or more people; a [[couch]] or [[settee]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(historical)'' In the Middle East, a raised section of floor covered with carpets and cushions for sitting on; a [[divan]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sofa table]]

+ * [[sofa bed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[divan]]

+ * [[ottoman]]

+ * [[settee]]

+ * [[couch]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}