mattress
[ ma-tris ]
/ ˈmæ trɪs /
noun
a large pad for supporting the reclining body, used as or on a bed, consisting of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, that contains hair, straw, cotton, foam rubber, etc., or a framework of metal springs.
a mat woven of brush, poles, or similar material, used to prevent erosion of the surface of dikes, jetties, embankments, dams, etc.
a layer of concrete placed on bare ground, as to provide a footing; mat.
a layer of any material used to cushion, protect, reinforce, or the like.
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- matto grosso,
- mattock,
- mattoid,
- mattoon,
- mattrass,
- mattress suture,
- matty,
- matulane,
- matura diamond,
- maturate
Origin of mattress
1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for mattress
mattress
/ (ˈmætrɪs) /
noun
a large flat pad with a strong cover, filled with straw, foam rubber, etc, and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or as part of a bed
Also called: Dutch mattress a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour
a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footingSometimes shortened to: mat
a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete
civil engineering another name for blinding (def. 3)
Word Origin for mattress
C13: via Old French from Italian materasso, from Arabic almatrah place where something is thrown
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mattress
late 13c., from Old French materas (12c., Modern French matelas), from Italian materasso and directly from Medieval Latin matracium, borrowed in Sicily from Arabic al-matrah "the cushion" (cf. Spanish almadraque "mattress," Provençal almatrac), literally "the thing thrown down," from taraha "he threw (down)."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper