couch

couch
/kowch/ or, for 6, 15, /koohch/, n.
1. a piece of furniture for seating from two to four people, typically in the form of a bench with a back, sometimes having an armrest at one or each end, and partly or wholly upholstered and often fitted with springs, tailored cushions, skirts, etc.; sofa.
2. a similar article of furniture, with a headrest at one end, on which some patients of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts lie while undergoing treatment.
3. a bed or other place of rest; a lounge; any place used for repose.
4. the lair of a wild beast.
5. Brewing. the frame on which barley is spread to be malted.
6. Papermaking. the board or felt blanket on which wet pulp is laid for drying into paper sheets.
7. Fine Arts. a primer coat or layer, as of paint.
8. on the couch, Informal. undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.
v.t.
9. to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; express: a simple request couched in respectful language.
10. to express indirectly or obscurely: the threat couched under his polite speech.
11. to lower or bend down, as the head.
12. to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.
13. to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep; cause to lie down.
14. to lay or spread flat.
15. Papermaking. to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.
16. to embroider by couching.
17. Archaic. to hide; conceal.
v.i.
18. to lie at rest or asleep; repose; recline.
19. to crouch; bend; stoop.
20. to lie in ambush or in hiding; lurk.
21. to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.
[1300-50; (n.) ME couche < AF, OF, deriv. of coucher; (v.) ME couchen < AF, OF coucher, OF colcher < L collocare to put into place, equiv. to col- COL- + locare to put, place; see LOCATE]

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      in modern usage a sofa or settee, but in the 17th and 18th centuries a long, upholstered seat for reclining, one end sloping and high enough to provide a back rest and headrest.

      Some late 18th-century versions had an arm running partly down one side, and this type continued to be made in England in the Regency period. Based on Greek prototypes, such flowing designs, of which there were many variations, were among the most elegant and successful interpretations of the classical revival. Many had scrolled ends and short, scimitar-shaped legs. The couch was superseded by the overstuffed sofa during the Victorian age.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • 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

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