a large sofa, often one convertible into a bed.
Chiefly British. a small writing desk.
John, 1597–1670, Puritan clergyman: one of the founders of New Haven.
a city in E Iowa, on the Mississippi River.
a tall narrow desk with a slanted writing surface and drawers at the side
a large sofa, esp one convertible into a bed
First recorded in 1850–55; the desk is said to be named after a Captain Davenport who first commissioned it
A davenport is a piece of furniture that you might lounge on in your living room — it's another name for an upholstered couch or sofa. Exactly how people describe a davenport depends on where they're from. In some parts of the U.S., a davenport is an especially fancy sofa, while in others it's one that can be converted into a bed. The name comes from a 19th century Massachusetts furniture maker, A.H. Davenport and Company. The family name Davenport goes back to a town in Cheshire, England. Earlier, the word referred to a small desk used for writing letters.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One day in January, near the turnstile at the exit of the 125th Street subway station, something caught my eye: a sepia-toned photograph that showed what looked like three siblings sitting on a davenport.
From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2020
She and her brothers, she wrote, had grown up in Onalaska, Wis., and she had loved that davenport.
From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2020
We’d sit on the davenport, helping Grandmom make dinner.
From MSNBC • Oct. 9, 2015
I taught him to sit up manlike, his spine leaning against the back of the davenport; and with my arm thrown buddy-like over his shoulder, we sat and 'watched' the television together.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mama, who had come to sit by me on the davenport, put her hand on mine and kept it there while Cudn Agnes finished the story.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
