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Does anyone know the origin of the word "couch"? 24.177.175.169 (talk) 01:30, 31 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There's still more to be done - this page is full of generalities. Perhaps someone has a furniture book or expertise in that area would like to comment on different couch styles... Someone who is more versed in the visual arts could give some examples of paintings.

It would be helpful if anyone can get their hands on:

  • the German academic paper "Das Sofa" (paper outline here) by Michaela Dantler
  • the book "An encyclodedia of sofas" by Constance King
  • the tape of the arte (French/German TV station) documentary: "Die Dinge des Lebens: Das Sofa"

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Pteron (talkcontribs)

Gendered object?

The couch is an extremely gendered object. It is invariably associated with femininity. In the visual arts women were represented sitting or lying on couches, oftentimes in the nude and/or in submissive positions, thereby satisfying masculinist erotic fantasies. The persistent use of this trope (still to be seen in modern cinema, e.g. in Titanic) has established an almost intrinsic connection between the female body and the couch.

I've removed the above section - it just doesn't sound right. References might help to back it up and if so it could be put back. violet/riga (t) 21:51, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I agree. It may be for assistance|help]])[[]] 22:49, Oct 7, 2004 (UTC)
That smells a lot like WP:OR.--h i s s p a c e r e s e a r c h 20:35, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Loveseat Merge

I've merged Loveseat into this article, I put up the suggestion a while back and got no opposition to it, just thought I'd let you know †he Bread 07:17, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not gonna take the time to do the research now, but I for one am appalled - appalled I tell you! - that the "S" shaped, two-seaters-facing-each-other style (albeit usually with padding), is nowhere mentioned. Back in the day, "Love Seat" meant nothing else. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.50.106.190 (talk) 19:50, 10 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Couch tag

Does anyone know the history of the laws regarding the couch tags that say, "Do not remove under penalty of law." I've been trying to figure out why couches have them, but could find nothing as of yet.

It's mostly intended to be followed by retailers, as a Customer Protection because of Truth in Advertising Laws. Don't worry! As The End-Consumer, you can do anything you want to your Couch, lol. 71.233.230.223 (talk) 01:23, 25 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Tom Cruise?!

Is that really necessary? 203.132.67.134 10:12, 11 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think the Tom Cruise information should be left in but formatted into a more standard "couches in pop culture" section similar to other wikipedia entries. Or place all that trivial information into its own entry... however that stuff gets done around here. Divadotn 23:37, 4 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The photo is so obviously put in there just for laughs... you can hardly see the couch! Joke photos should be less obvious.--24.85.46.33 22:52, 18 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is one of the most irrelevant pieces of trivia I've seen in Wikipedia. It has nothing whatsoever to do with couches and I'm removing it. Angela. 14:12, 22 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cry more please, Angela

developing

wow. would someone take a look at this?

it's atrocious.

developing

wow. would someone take a look at this?

it's atrocious.

Itsallaroundus (talk) 17:03, 17 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, that's YOUR job! Feel free to edit at your leisure.Homely (talk) 21:34, 22 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Couch the game?

What is this section and what relevance does it have? It should definitely be removed.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.195.184.117 (talk) 04:02, 4 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I have not heard of this game, now I am intrigued ... Smin0 (talk) 01:13, 3 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Rucked Up

Various editors seem to have sprawled all over this article to no great effect. Hakluyt bean (talk) 21:55, 1 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Second photo is not a couch

According the definition at the beginning, the second photo is not a couch (it's just a single chair, for seating one person). I'm removing it, but someone could add another one? Smin0 (talk) 01:13, 3 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request from Institutinalized, 16 September 2010

{{edit semi-protected}}

Extended content
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 [citation needed] 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 teams Olympiakos.They tend to sit on the couch and watch Panathinaikos play in the UEFA competitions.

Etymology

The traditional meaning of couch is a particular type of sofa with a half back and one raised end.[1][2] 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".Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). 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.[citation needed]

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).[citation needed]

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.[3] 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".[citation needed]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Sofas Galore – A History of Couch Terms
  2. ^ "Couch" (1972) Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary; ed. A. M. Macdonald. Edinburgh: Chambers, p. 295
  3. ^ Chambers, J. K. "The Canada-U.S. border as a vanishing isogloss: the evidence of chesterfield." Journal of English Linguistics; 23 (1995): 156–66, excerpt at [1]

References

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

Category:Furniture *

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Institutinalized (talk) 13:39, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: Please don't copy the entire article into the talk page; it makes it difficult to vette the request. Simply detail the change in a 'please change X to Y' manner. Thanks, Celestra (talk) 15:22, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request from 62.103.215.199, 16 September 2010

{{edit semi-protected}} Please change "The term canapé is commonly used also in Greece and Cyprus, for fans of Greek and Cypriot Football teams Panathinaikos and Omonoia.They tend to sit on the couch and watch Olympiakos, APOEL and Anorthosis play in the UEFA Champions League." to "The term canapé is commonly used also in Greece for fans of Greek team Olympiakos. They tend to sit on the couch and watch Panathinaikos play in the UEFA Champions League" because historically Panathinaikos has given many more international games than any other Greek team and especially more than Olympiakos.

62.103.215.199 (talk) 14:01, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Celestra (talk) 15:25, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request from Ak200969, 16 September 2010

{{edit semi-protected}} The article sais

"The term canapé is commonly used also in Greece and Cyprus, for fans of Greek and Cypriot Football teams Panathinaikos and Omonoia.They tend to sit on the couch and watch Olympiakos, APOEL and Anorthosis play in the UEFA Champions League."

The truth is the exact opposite. The term is used only for Olympiakos fans who sit on the couch and watch arch-rivals Panathinaikos play in all european competitions, while Olympiakos is either eliminated earlier, or eliminated from August.... The fact that Panathinaikos has played more games in all European competitions than Olympiakos is undoubtable and can be confirmed by a brief research in UEFA history.

Ak200969 (talk) 14:48, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Celestra (talk) 15:29, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request from ChriskLGate13, 16 September 2010

{{edit semi-protected}} The term canapé is commonly used also in Greece and Cyprus, for fans of Greek and Cypriot Football teams Olympiakos and Omonoia.They tend to sit on the couch and watch Panathinaikos, APOEL and Anorthosis play in the UEFA Champions League.

The information is wrong. Correct it with the upper add-on. ChriskLGate13 (talk) 15:26, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Celestra (talk) 15:31, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

South Australian terms

English, Irish and Scottish migration to South Australia over nearly 175 years has brought different spoken terminology to the vernacular. Couch is the main older Australian word used but English and Scottish settlers from the 1950s onward use the term settee. Offspring from these settlers use a variety of terms, namely couch, sofa, lounge and less often, settee. The term sofa is not generally used in South Australia though it appears in furniture catalogues so may appear in the younger gererations' vocabularies given time. Gradual media-influenced Americanization of Australian English may see some words soon becoming acceptable when they were scorned in the past. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Trevorheywood (talkcontribs) 10:18, 18 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

is the word sofa really americanisation? in england it is a sofa or setee NOT a couch. therefore, I don't think sofa is an american word. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.21.4.251 (talk) 21:38, 23 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ottoman

Also known as an ottoman? Since when? If that's the case, why do we have a separate article for Ottoman? Suggest either we remove this from the first line or merge pages. 81.100.244.9 (talk) 11:07, 4 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How much material do i need yo buy for a 3 seat cushioned couch? How much for a 2 seat cushion love seat? It is mission style, so all wood on the sides.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.182.36.133 (talk) 14:38, 13 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]