hassock

American  

[has-uhk] / ˈhæs ək /

noun

1. a thick, firm cushion used as a footstool or for kneeling.

2. ottoman.

3. a rank tuft of coarse grass or sedge, as in a bog.

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hassock British  

/ ˈhæsək /

noun

1. a firm upholstered cushion used for kneeling on, esp in church

2. a thick clump of grass

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Etymology

Origin of hassock

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hassuc coarse grass

Explanation

A soft cushion for sitting, kneeling, or resting your feet on is a hassock. You can also call a hassock a tuffet, like Little Miss Muffet's tuffet in the nursery rhyme. One place you can find hassocks is in a church in which the congregation kneels during prayers. These hassocks are also known as kneelers. If your footrest has legs on it, it's a footstool, but if it doesn't, feel free to refer to it as a hassock. The oldest meaning of this word is "clump of grass." Experts guess that the "soft cushion" meaning of hassock came from its similarity to a soft clump of grass.

Example Sentences

A hassock of grass cradled his back as he looked up.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2017

Jackson sat down again, and I perched on a hassock between brother and sister, separated by the glass top of a low table.

From The Guardian • Feb. 4, 2016

Poor Nixon wouldn’t put his shoes up on a hassock unless he covered it with a towel, because it was White House furniture.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 3, 2015

Soon afterward an uncle noticed that as Margie sat on a hassock she looked crooked, and her right shoulder blade protruded.

From Time Magazine Archive

Upstairs in 3D Angela Wexler stood on a hassock as still and blank-faced pretty as a store-window dummy.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin