Couch

For other uses, see Couch (disambiguation).

A two-seater upholstered couch

Portuguese rosewood caned settee (canape), 19th century (Camilo Castelo Branco House, Famalicão)

A couch is a generic term in North America, Australia (Most commonly known as a lounge), New Zealand, and sometimes the United Kingdom for an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge. They consist of a wooden or metal structure supplemted by padding and are covered in a variety of textiles, leather, or sometimes a combination of both. They will also be found in hotels and parts of commercial offices, furniture stores, etc.

Other terms synonymous with the above definition of couch are sofa (derived from the Arabic word suffah), settee and canapé.

The term canapé is commonly used also in Greece, for fans of Greek Football team Panathinaikos.They tend to sit on the couch and watch Olympiakos play in the UEFA Champions League.

Etymology

The traditional meaning of couch is a particular type of sofa with a half back and one raised end. By this definition it more closely resembles a daybed, chaise longue, or indeed a bed. In the UK, where the generic term for the item of living room furniture is usually "sofa" or "settee", the term "couch" retains this specific meaning, for example in a therapeutic setting (e.g. a psychiatrist's couch). A couch is therefore used while lying down, while a sofa or settee is for sitting upright. The word "couch" derives from Old French couche, meaning "bed", and from coucher, meaning "put to bed, lay down". A sectional sofa, often just referred to as a "sectional", is formed from multiple sections (typically two to four) and usually includes at least two pieces that join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater, used to wrap around walls or other furniture. A sectional sofa is known as a corner sofa or corner suite in the UK.

Other couch variants include the divan, the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise longue (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally considered a type of footstool). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in the form of sofa-beds, daybeds, or futons. There are also couches known by genericized trademarked names, such as a davenport or Chesterfield (named for one of the Earls of Chesterfield).

The term "chesterfield" is a Canadian term equivalent to couch or sofa. The use of the term has been found to be widespread among older Canadians, but is quickly vanishing from Canadian English according to one survey done in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario in 1992. In the United Kingdom, the word refers to a particular style of sofa featuring a low rolled back and deep buttoning.

The term "three-piece suite" is used to describe a furniture set consisting of a two or three-seater couch and two armchairs. Other less specific terms for sets with at least one sofa include "chesterfield suite", "lounge suite", "living-room suite" and "sofa suite".

See also

• International Suppliers
• The joiner's settle
• list of chairs for an extended list of various chair types and makes
• Sigmund Freud's and lacanian use of couch in psychoanalysis

References

• John Gloag, A Short Dictionary of Furniture rev. ed. 1962. (London: Allen & Unwin)

External links

• Etymology of "sofa"