divan

¹ American  

[dih-van, -vahn, dahy-van] / dɪˈvæn, -ˈvɑn, ˈdaɪ væn /

noun

• divans
  plural

1. a sofa or couch, usually without arms or back, often usable as a bed.

2. a long, cushioned seat, usually without arms or back, placed against a wall, as in Asian countries.

3. a council of state in Turkey and other countries of the Middle East.

4. any council, committee, or commission.

5. (in the Middle East)

   1. a council chamber, judgment hall, audience chamber, or bureau of state.

   2. a large building used for some official or public purpose, as a custom house.

6. a smoking room, as in connection with a tobacco shop.

7. a collection of poems, especially a collection in Arabic or Persian of poems by one poet.

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divan ² American  

[dih-van] / dɪˈvæn /

adjective

1. (especially of chicken or turkey breast) sliced and baked in a casserole with broccoli and hollandaise sauce.

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divan British  

/ dɪˈvæn /

noun

1. 1. a backless sofa or couch, designed to be set against a wall

   2. a bed resembling such a couch

2. (esp formerly) a room for smoking and drinking, as in a coffee shop

3. 1. a Muslim law court, council chamber, or counting house

   2. a Muslim council of state

4. a collection of poems

5. (in Muslim law) an account book

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• divans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of divan¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Ottoman Turkish dīvān “state council,” from Arabic dīwān, from Persian dīwān, originally dēvan “booklet” (whence “account book, archive, office, council, bench”)

Origin of divan²

First recorded in 1935–40; named after its place of origin, the Divan Parisienne Restaurant, in the Chatham Hotel, Manhattan, New York; see divine

Explanation

A divan is a piece of furniture you might have in your living room — it's a low sofa without a back, sort of like an upholstered bench. Famously, Sigmund Freud's patients reclined on a divan during psychoanalysis. The word divan comes from Turkish, and its meaning, "long, cushioned seat," evolved from "book of accounts" to "council chamber" and finally to a type of seating that's common in council chambers in the Middle East. Occasionally people mean a bed with box-springs when they talk about a divan, but it usually refers to a seat with cushions for leaning against.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

divan divans

The green-eyed 20-year-old Queen sat next to the Shah on a divan while he sat in his shirtsleeves telling the story of the flight.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2023

A parallel tradition of high poetry in Turkish called divan poetry also developed, which used the rhyme schemes and poetic meters of Persian poetry.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

Pluto was on break, resting on a divan.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2022

He was perched with his Chihuahua, Queenie, on a French divan upholstered in green velvet.

From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2020

Even then the Tisroc remained seated in silence on the divan till Aravas almost began to be afraid that he had dropped asleep.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Platinum blond crabeater seals lounged on divans of drifting ice, basking in the sun.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 14, 2023

Ms Busby alleges the two divans which made up the base of the bed were not properly fastened together and two "gliders" - or feet - were missing from the end of the bed.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2018

The job interview happened in a hotel lobby, in front of dozens of strangers, on a couple of chairs, near some tasteful divans.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2018

And Offred muses that handmaid gatherings look like "paintings of harems, fat women lolling on divans, turbans on their heads, or velvet caps, being fanned with peacock tails, a eunuch in the background standing guard."

From The Verge ● Jun. 15, 2017

Locke’s bedroom is messy—books and clothes scattered on divans and low couches.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black