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• Ottoman
  Ottoman

  adjective

  of or relating to the Ottoman Empire.
• ottoman
  ottoman

Ottoman

American  

[ot-uh-muhn] / ˈɒt ə mən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Ottoman Empire.

2. of or relating to the lands, peoples, and possessions of the Ottoman Empire.

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noun

• Ottomans
  plural

1. a Turk.

2. a Turk of the family or tribe of Osman.

3. (lowercase) a cushioned footstool.

4. (lowercase) a low cushioned seat without back or arms.

5. (lowercase) a kind of divan or sofa, with or without a back.

6. (lowercase) a corded silk or rayon fabric with large cotton cord for filling.

ottoman ¹ British  

/ ˈɒtəmən /

noun

1. 1. a low padded seat, usually armless, sometimes in the form of a chest

   2. a cushioned footstool

2. a corded fabric

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Ottoman ² British  

/ ˈɒtəmən /

adjective

1. history of or relating to the Ottomans or the Ottoman Empire

2. denoting or relating to the Turkish language

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noun

1. a member of a Turkish people who invaded the Near East in the late 13th century

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Ottomanlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Ottomans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Ottoman

1575–85; < French < Italian ottomano, after the founder of the empire ( Arabic ʿuthmān ); Ottoman defs. 5, 6, 7, 8 < French ottomane (feminine)

Explanation

Your dad's favorite cushioned spot to rest his feet can be referred to as an ottoman — it's also known as a hassock or a footstool. This word may conjure anything from a vast empire to a footstool — it's all the same word, ultimately from the Arabic personal name Othman (which loses a lot, soundwise, in translation). The puffy footstools known as ottomans were allegedly originally a component of said empire's comforts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Ottoman ottoman Ottomans

He died from a fever in 1824 in Missolonghi, in modern day Greece, after joining Greek insurgents the year prior to fight a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

After World War I and its remaking of the global order, including the end of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, anticolonial movements stirred across Asia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Albania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 and became a monarchy.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

First used by Ottoman military "mehter" bands to frighten and demoralise the enemy, cymbals were a useful tool for an empire on the warpath.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

“My ancestors came from the Danubian Sich. In the 1700s, we were exiled from Russia and settled in parts of the Ottoman Empire. For my family, it was Bucharest and Brailov.”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

A chair he designed is known as the Platner chair and still sells, with its ottoman, for as much as $18,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

We would also lose one of TV’s most unforgettable opening sequences highlighted by Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie tumbling over an ottoman, then springing to his feet with a grin.

From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2025

Artist Darren Romanelli teamed up with Goodwill and scoured EBay to piece together his Olympic-themed lounge chair and ottoman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025

Having an upholstered ottoman can be more functional than a coffee table, since it allows you to put your feet up.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

I pick up Mister Johnny’s folded pants off the yellow ottoman.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Over the centuries came many others, including the Ottomans, the French and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

America’s allies worry other players could try to replicate Iran’s example, like empires of the 17th century, when China’s Qing dynasty, the Ottomans and Portuguese taxed passing vessels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

"Stanley came to appreciate the social and the spiritual benefits Islam provided the Ottomans," Gilham said.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

The fall of Trebizond to the Ottomans in 1461 led to the city becoming majority Muslim.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2024

The conquest of the Aegean by the Ottomans was completed by 1570; but Venice retained Crete till 1669 and never lost Corfu until its cession to France in 1797.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various