- 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]
* * *
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 The couch was superseded by the overstuffed sofa during the Victorian age.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
