paillasse

or pal·liasse

[ pal-yas, pal-yas, pal-ee-as, pal-ee-as ]

noun

1. Chiefly British. a mattress of straw; pallet.

paillasse

/ ˈpælɪˌæs; ˌpælɪˈæs /

noun

1. See palliasse
   a variant spelling (esp US) of palliasse

Word History and Origins

Origin of paillasse¹

1500–10; < French < Italian pagliaccio straw pallet, equivalent to pagli ( a ) straw (< Latin palea chaff ) + -accio pejorative noun suffix

Example Sentences

Paillasse, pa-lyas′, n. a small bed, originally made of chaff or straw: an under mattress of straw.

From Project Gutenberg

Raising one of the blinds cautiously, he recognized the little suburb of Paillasse.

From Project Gutenberg

They lie in straw-lofts, in woody brakes; rudest paillasse on the floor of a secret friend is luxury.

From Project Gutenberg

The next moment she had pushed it between the paillasse and mattress of Susy's bed.

From Project Gutenberg

And there are entries relating to everything between a violin and a paillasse, a brass fender and a blue beaver coat.

From Project Gutenberg