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definitions

mattress

[ma-tris]
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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.
air mattress.
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

cushion, bed, pallet, futon, springs, innerspring

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

Contemporary Examples of mattress

Historical Examples of mattress

  • The shirt was clotted with blood; so were the mattress under him and the floor.

    The Underdog

    F. Hopkinson Smith

  • They put a mattress in the bottom of the cart, and plenty of blankets.

    Heather and Snow

    George MacDonald

  • These filthy animals got fatter and fatter, then they jumped onto the mattress and disappeared.

    L'Assommoir

    Emile Zola

  • When the mattress was empty she got thirty sous for the sack so as to be able to have coffee.

    L'Assommoir

    Emile Zola

  • Etienne could sleep in the shop, on a mattress on the floor, that was all.

    L'Assommoir

    Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for mattress

mattress

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
Word Origin and History for mattress
n.

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