mat�tress
�
� (m
t
r
s)
KEY
�
NOUN:
-
- A usually rectangular pad of heavy cloth filled with soft material or an arrangement of coiled springs, used as or on a bed.
- An airtight inflatable pad used as or on a bed or as a cushion.
- A closely woven mat of brush and poles used to protect an embankment, a dike, or a dam from erosion.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English
mattresse, from Old French
materas, from Old Italian
materasso, and from Medieval Latin
matracium both from Arabic
ma
ra
,
place where something is thrown, mat, cushion, from
araa,
to throw; see
r in Semitic roots
WORD HISTORY:
The history of the word
mattress is a small lesson in the way amenities have come to Europe from the Middle East. During the earlier part of the Middle Ages, Arabic culture was more advanced than that of Europe. One of the amenities of life enjoyed by the Arabs was sleeping on cushions thrown on the floor. Derived from the Arabic word
araa, "to throw," the word
mara meant "place where something is thrown" and "mat, cushion." This kind of sleeping surface was adopted by the Europeans during the Crusades, and the Arabic word was taken into Old Italian (
materasso) and then into Old French (
materas), from which comes the Middle English word
materas, first recorded in a work written around 1300. The Arabic word also became Medieval Latin
matracium, another source of our word.
