mattress

Meanings

Noun

• A pad on which a person can recline and sleep, usually having an inner section of coiled springs covered with foam or other cushioning material then enclosed with cloth fabric.
• A form of retaining wall used to support foundations or an embankment

Verb

• To cover with a thick layer, like a mattress; to blanket.

Origin

• From Middle English materas, from Old French, from Arabic مَطْرَح ("place where something is thrown"), from طَرَحَ. Compare divan, from Persian via Turkish (both of Middle Eastern origin, due to the local custom of lying on padding on floor being foreign to Europeans).